NLRB memo says college athletes are employees — not "student athletes"— and deserve benefits, pay

College athletes who make millions for their schools moved one step closer to gaining the rights afforded private sector workers when the top lawyer for the National Labor Relations Board said in a memo they should be treated as employees of the school.

The memo issued on Wednesday by NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo doesn't immediately change the current dynamic, in which players rake in millions for their schools, conferences and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in exchange for no more than a scholarship and cost of attendance stipend.

But it lays a potential path for athletes to unionize or otherwise bargain over their working conditions, including pay.