college student for some other purpose and it would not inherently be illegal. So the NCAA can't build their rules around making such an exchange illegal just so sports fans and coaches and admins have an easier time producing cheap labor to run this billion dollar industry.

So this is an unfortunate quirk that for decades now we have had pro sports masquerading as amateurism. At least for now, the players still have to go to some classes and remain academically eligible but the NCAA and university admins are no longer allowed to restrict all the rich boosters from sharing money with the athletes.