It's absurd. The NCAA is such a hypocritical organization, making tons of money off these kids but not letting the kids make anything. And now the NCAA wants to ice out perhaps its most exciting player. Bravo.
first off they are not kids they are adults
Second off as adults they can make a choice - play for a scholarship or play overseas
Not every school is rolling in money, so don't even go there
Every school that has money to put NBA caliber athletes on the floor can afford to pay them. That billion dollar income isn't going to see a dent because Penny Hardaway wanted to help this kid succeed. It also wouldn't see a dent by allowing them to accept endorsement deals.
Remember: Before the mid 50's, even athletic scholarships ran afoul of the organisation's amateurism rules. Prior to that, they gave athletes jobs on campus (just not for playing basketball, however the job was only given to althetes). And, up until the mid 70's, some schools actually paid athletes a stipend (which, of course, is paying people to play sports). Then they stopped... because it was 'antithetical to amateurism'.
Then, of course, after many lawsuits, they started paying stipends again five or six years ago now. And no one noticed.
The key phrase to look for when examining the NCAA is the phrase "benefits incidental to participation". Watch how that phrase is involved in moving the goalposts, and you'll realise the organisations arguments for not paying athletes are entirely spurious.
