Imagine if in Monday night's Villanova-Michigan NCAA men's basketball title game, the players’ athletic scholarships were limited not by NCAA rules but by what the market dictates.
Would Villanova forward Mikal Bridges—a projected lottery pick in the 2018 NBA Draft—have a scholarship worth more than reimbursement for the cost of his tuition, room and course-related books? Would the scholarship also reflect the considerable financial value Bridges has brought to Villanova in terms of encouraging fans to pay for tickets to watch him play? Likewise, would it contemplate the increased number of television viewers Villanova games attract because of Bridges’ talents?