Ken Feinberg discusses the Former College Athletes Players Association

I had the honor of interviewing famed mediator Kenneth Feinberg for his role in the Former College Athletes' Association, an organization that would distribute money to former college athletes should the O'Bannon and related litigation prevail or lead to a settlement.  Here's my interview for SI.com. 

Here is an excerpt:

The distribution of funds by the FCAA to former college athletes would require formulas, and Feinberg says those formulas, along with associated bylaws and regulations, are "still in development." In other distributions supervised by Feinberg, individuals and businesses have been awarded different amounts of money depending on such factors as type of injury suffered, proximity to the harm, loss of revenue pegged to prior years' averages and quality of supporting documentation. As an illustration, business geographically closer to oil spills have received more money because of proximity, but their type of harm and prior earnings matter, too.

Feinberg has generally received praise for developing formulas that balance equity and fairness, although some have complained his methodologies are too rigid. No matter what formulas are used, some do better than others. The same would be true of former college athletes should they be entitled to compensation. Some would do better than other former players and some would likely complain. Potential factors for formulas are numerous and may include type of sports played, playing time, team and individual exposure on television, statistical performance and public recognition.

Along those lines, it is possible that college athletes at big-time sports schools would receive more from the FCAA after college. This could provide a recruiting advantage for coaches at big time sports schools when recruiting star high school athletes. It is important to stress, however, that until formulas are finalized and revealed, it is difficult to know their possible impact on college sports. Feinberg emphasizes that the FCAA would be "fair" in distributing any money.

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