The $2,000 Stipend and the Rule of Reason: an Antitrust Analysis

By Andy Schwarz   Boiled down its core, the antitrust law of cooperation among competitors says that the cooperation must be reasonable and necessary to create a product that otherwise would not exist. So that’s the lens to view any NCAA agreement among its members. It’s part of a broader principle that lawyers and antitrust folks call the “Rule of Reason.” 1   This fall, there was much excitement when the NCAA announced it would “allow” schools to provide college athletes