That rumble you hear is the world of college sports being shaken to its core. For 117 years, the National Collegiate Athletic Association has been built on the tenet of amateurism. On Tuesday, the president of the NCAA proposed changing that. Schools with top programs could pay student-athletes endorsement deals, and even establish trusts for them. 

The proposal is just a proposal. But the Olympics have already learned this lesson. Amateurism is a privilege. Only people with a decent amount of wealth can afford to be amateurs. Of course, young American athletes with pro dreams usually had nowhere else to go but to the NCAA. But there’s an honesty to universities’ acknowledging their essential role in the professional sports ecosystem – and considering how to share the staggering profits they make from that arrangement.