Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh suggests college athletes unionize after championship win

University of Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh suggested that college athletes should unionize after his team won the national championship on Monday night.

“The thing I would change about college football is, to let the talent share in the ever-increasing revenues,” Harbaugh said at a press conference Tuesday. “We’re all robbing the same train and the ones that are in the position to do the heavy lifting, the ones that risk life and limb out there on a football field are the players and not just, not just football players, student athletes.”

Harbaugh and the Wolverines defeated the University of Washington Huskies 34-13 Monday night to take the national title.

The coach also went after others involved in the business of college athletics, including the schools, conferences and the NCAA for their reaping of benefits from the system. 

“For a long time, people say that unionizing would be bad,” Harbaugh said. “If people aren’t gonna do it, if they’re not gonna do it out of their own goodwill, and do what’s right, I mean, that’s probably the next step.”

Debate continues over how college football and other sports should handle players’ recent ability to monetize their name, image and likeness (NIL). Lawmakers have generally agreed that new NIL reforms and regulations are needed, but they so far have not come together on what that should look like.