Imagine Jerry Jones wrote an op-ed in The New York Times asking that the U.S. Congress make a law denying employment rights to the people who power the engine that drives the Dallas Cowboys’ revenue.

That star on the helmet is a glorious, cherished American institution. It’s what everyone is paying to see. And my boys can’t be bothered with all that workers’ compensation and collective bargaining mumbo jumbo. They’ve got to figure out a way to get out of the second weekend of the playoffs.

Despite Jones’ gift for hyperbole, even he wouldn’t dream of doing this. He’d get torched. He’d be pilloried in every corner of the sports, government and financial spaces. Plus, we know he really liked writing checks to Ezekiel Elliott.

But that level of self-awareness doesn’t exist for the people who run major college sports. They have chosen over decades to build a multibillion-dollar business, and they still think they can appeal to the government and to an increasingly cynical public to hold on to a system that even they admit is broken.

On Thursday, The New York Times (The Athletic’s parent company) published an op-ed from Notre Dame president John Jenkins and athletic director Jack Swarbrick that cloaked itself in nostalgia while nakedly asking the U.S. government to codify a system that will allow schools and their executives and coaches to enjoy all the benefits of running a couple of major American sports with none of the pesky annoyances like paying market value for the talent or negotiating with the workforce. Jenkins and Swarbrick also command the NFL to create its own minor league instead of using the perfectly good — and incredibly popular — one they’ve created. They’d also like the NBA to abolish its age limit.

Congress, too, must act to resolve conflicting state regulations, clarify that our athletes are students, not employees, and give the N.C.A.A. the ability to enact and enforce rules for fair recruiting and compensation.