Seems to me that the 2023 college football “playoff” decision that picked Texas and Alabama over undefeated Florida State is strong evidence for lawsuits filed against the NCAA that claim athletes should be treated as employees. The selection was made for the sake of producing the best “made for TV event” rather than on competitive results, in other words, it was a business decision. Call it what it is, figure skating style judgement decisions, not a playoff, and stop calling the ultimate winner a national champion when you limit the competitors to a subset of the overall field.