Should NCAA players get paid for playing?

Should NCAA players get paid for playing?

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Gonzaga’s Domantas Sabonis drives against UCLA’s Isaac Hamilton (10) during the second half of a college basketball regional semifinal game in the NCAA Tournament Friday, March 27, 2015, in Houston.; Credit: David J. Phillip/AP

This weekend is Selection Sunday, the day when the NCAA announces the 68 college basketball teams that will play in March Madness and there’s a lot at stake for most of the parties involved.

Last year, fans wagered around $9 billion on the tournament while the NCAA took  in almost $11 billion in broadcast rights. But the people doing the heavy lifting, the players, they get none of that. That’s because they’re getting something sports officials say is much more valuable, a free college education.

Lately though, the NCAA-invented term of the “student-athlete” is being challenged both in court and in the court of public opinion. 

Joe Nocerra wrote about this in his new book,  “Indentured: The Inside Story of the Rebellion vs the NCAA,” and he joined A Martinez to talk about it.