23 Power Four GMs back collective bargaining in closed-door Athletes.Org meeting

On Sunday night in Nashville, 23 Power Four general managers gathered with Jim Cavale and Brandon Copeland of Athletes.Org, a players’ association, to discuss collective bargaining. College athletics is in the midst of a summer of upheaval.

The Big Ten and SEC have yet to reach an agreement on the future of the College Football Playoff. The House settlement has ushered in the revenue-sharing era, introducing a new enforcement entity that has been met with opposition. Plus, an executive order signed by President Donald Trump ensures athletes are not employees.

Collective bargaining has emerged as one of the pathways forward for college sports this summer. Multiple Power Four athletic directors have come out in support of creating a collective-bargaining structure.

Across a five-hour meeting with the 23 Power Four general managers on Sunday night, Cavale and Copeland opened the floor for a discussion on moving to a collective-bargaining model. All 23 agreed in unison that it is the best pathway forward for college sports.

The group was 100% in favor of removing a portal window during the season and 100% supported performance-based incentives. General managers also voiced their opinions for a formal agent certification process and registry.

“Last night, meeting with GMs was another example of the power of getting everyone in a room,” Cavale told On3. “All the different perspectives and actually talking about the solution for the future. Unfortunately, for a lot of these GMs, they can’t talk about their perspective and their ideas for solutions in their own building because this is such a taboo topic — collective bargaining and solving for the future of college athletics. Some of them do get to do that, but not all of them, so this was a chance for them to participate.”

Different collective bargaining proposals have circulated in college sports in recent months. Cavale’s proposal leans on federal legislation. He’s pushed his own drafted legislation that would give athletes a special, non-employee status for Division I and establish collective bargaining rights. Tennessee athletic director Danny White has also shared a proposal that would establish a national organization to employ and unionize athletes.

General managers have had a front-row seat to the ever-changing college football landscape. That includes navigating the transfer portal to the role of booster-funded NIL collectives to offer rev-share contracts to recruits.

Athletes.Org held a players’ only meeting in Atlanta over the winter ahead of the national championship game, bringing in more than 50 college football athletes. Creating a collective bargaining process was heavily discussed.

“The pro leagues commit themselves to locking themselves in a room with the players’ association and not coming out until they figure out the solution needed for a new collective bargaining agreement,” Cavale said. “That’s how they get a deal. That’s how the best businesses and industries in the world operate. They commit to finding a solution, and that’s what this industry needs. We need all the stakeholders to commit to getting into a room to figure out the best path forward for all parties. The GMs who run these college football programs were in a room together, and that was great.”