BYU football players are now technically considered employees of the university, according to the National Labor Relations Board.
ESPN’s Lester Munson reported that the top lawyer at the NLRB issued an official opinion that players competing at private universities are employees of their respective schools.
There are 17 private universities playing in the FBS. They are: Baylor, Boston College, BYU, Duke, Miami, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Rice, Southern California, SMU, Stanford, Syracuse, TCU, Tulane, Tulsa, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest.
In 2014 NLRB Regional Director Peter Ohr ruled that Northwestern football players are employees. The newest ruling only deals with football teams because the original ruling was football specific.