Athlete Retirement Trust Fund Allocation System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current regulations, such as those enforced by the NCAA, prohibit direct compensation of college athletes, limiting their financial support during their amateur status, while generating substantial revenue from their participation in collegiate sports.
Innovation Solution
A computerized system calculates and allocates a portion of the aggregate income from collegiate sports teams into a student athlete retirement trust, allowing for revenue sharing upon retirement or reaching a specified age, thereby adhering to NCAA guidelines and promoting future financial security for athletes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If direct compensation is provided to college athletes, then their financial security is improved, but NCAA regulations are violated and their amateur status is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the compensation timing by creating two distinct phases: during amateur status (no direct payment) and after amateur status ends (trust fund distribution). This temporal segmentation allows the system to maintain compliance during the athletic career while providing financial support afterward, effectively resolving the contradiction between maintaining amateur status and ensuring financial security.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary action by establishing and funding the trust account during the athlete's amateur career, before they need the financial support. The university and athlete make contributions to the trust fund during the athletic career, so that when the athlete becomes eligible for distribution, the funds are already prepared. This preliminary funding resolves the contradiction by preparing financial security in advance without compromising current amateur status.
2Quantity of substance
If revenue sharing is implemented during amateur status, then athlete compensation is improved, but regulatory compliance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The trust fund acts as an intermediary mechanism between the university's revenue and the athlete's compensation. Instead of direct payment from university to athlete (which would violate regulations), the revenue flows through the trust fund structure. The university contributes to the trust, the trust holds and manages the funds, and distribution occurs only when the athlete is eligible. This intermediary structure enables revenue sharing while maintaining regulatory compliance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the temporal dimension of compensation by moving it from the present (during amateur status) to the future (after amateur status ends). Instead of compensating athletes in the present when they are generating revenue, the system accumulates funds and compensates them in the future when they are no longer under NCAA restrictions. This dimensional shift in timing resolves the contradiction between providing compensation and maintaining compliance.
3Adaptability or versatility
If trust fund establishment is delayed, then regulatory flexibility is improved, but athlete financial preparation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by establishing the trust fund immediately when the athlete enrolls or begins their athletic career, not when they graduate or leave the university. This early establishment maximizes the time available for fund accumulation through contributions and investment growth, ensuring adequate financial preparation while maintaining regulatory flexibility to adjust contribution amounts and schedules as the athlete progresses through their career.
Data Source
AI summary
A computer-implemented method including, retrieving information indicative of aggregate income that is attributable to a plurality of collegiate sports teams and income that is attributable to a particular collegiate sports team in the plurality, and for the particular collegiate sports team, determining an athlete residual value that is at least partly based on the aggregate income that is attributable to the plurality of collegiate sports teams and the income that is attributable to the particular collegiate sports team in the plurality, determining, based on the athlete residual value, a portion of the aggregate income that is revenue shared with a particular athlete who is a member of the particular collegiate sports team, and causing the determined portion of the aggregate income to be placed in a student athlete retirement trust for the particular athlete.