Do elite student-athletes preparing for professional athletic careers have a business or property interest in their NCAA eligibility?

QUESTION PRESENTED Less than three years ago, this Court unanimously recognized that NCAA Division I student-athletes, as laborers, have a legally cognizable interest in the education-related benefits they receive as NCAA eligible student-athletes. Natl Collegiate Athletic Assoc. v. Alston, 1418. Ct. 2141 (2021). Accepting the realities of modern-day college sports that have long been overlooked in lower courts, Alston observed that the “NCAA’s Division I essentially is the relevant market for elite college football and basketball,” and that “there are no ‘viable substitutes.” Id. at 2152. Because of this market dominance, “student-athletes have nowhere else to sell their labor.” Id. at 2156 (emphasis added). A student-athlete’s eligibility to access this unparalleled market is therefore highly valuable. The question presented is: Do elite student-athletes preparing for professional athletic careers have a business or property interest in their NCAA eligibility? (i)