Supreme Court rules in favor of athletes in NCAA compensation case

The Supreme Court sided unanimously with college athletes on Monday, ruling the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s restrictions on education benefits for players violate the nation’s antitrust laws.

The 9-0 decision represents a landmark victory for college players and a significant moment in the history of college athletics, as lawmakers in Congress and statehouses weigh new laws to allow athletes to profit from personal endorsements and sponsorships.

The ruling is likely to allow colleges to offer topflight football and basketball players pricey enticements related to their education — such as thousands of dollars in cash awards for maintaining a high GPA or making progress toward graduation, or graduate school scholarships and study abroad opportunities.

College sports conferences can also set their own rules for what acceptable education-related benefits should be. But Monday’s ruling will alter the tenor of a long-running debate about the business of college sports and whether the NCAA, states or the federal government should control the rules for a multibillion-dollar marketplace.