EVANSTON — In a move that could potentially send shock waves throughout college football operations around the country, Northwestern football players filed a petition Jan. 28 with the National Labor Relations Board to be recognized as a union.

Petition No. 13-RC-121359 was filed in Chicago and asks that Northwestern football players receiving grant-in-aid athletic scholarships from the university be officially recognized as a union by the NLRB.

Currently, no amateur collegiate student athletes are part of a union, but the Northwestern players contend they are also employees of the university and are entitled to come together as a players’ union.

Jay Krupin, partner at Washington, D.C. Based lawfirm BakerHostetler, said he thinks the NLRB will most likely not rule in favor of the players, but he thinks it’s important the issue is brought up.

Krupin serves as BakerHostetler’s National Co-Chair of the Labor Relations Practice. He has testified before Congress on labor legislation, as well as before the NLRB on rulemaking proposals.

“This is a losing case for the players. You have to be an employee to be unionized and they aren’t,” said Krupin.

He said the players are citing past instances where teaching assistants were classified as employees of a university.

“Football players do not fall under the same classification. They are not standing in for professional players,” said Krupin.

“The idea that they will be viewed as employees is wrong. The issue is a valid issue, but they may have picked the wrong forum.”

Krupin said that while the Northwestern players’ case may not turn the tide toward college football players getting paid, it will steer the conversation toward its intended target: medical coverage later in life for injured players.

The issue is that athletes currently are so big and strong, long lasting injuries are becoming more and more common. Football players may be on a division 1 team at a world class university, but Krupin said they are taking a large risk with their future and need more protection.

“I think they’ll see recognition that college football is not just recreational. College football players earn an enormous amount of money for their universities.

“While I don’t see them getting paid, I do see medical issues being taken care of later down the road, and that’s something that’s going to be discussed a lot more,” Krupin said.