The California Legislature has passed a bill co-authored by state Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, that would allow college athletes to profit from their names and images.
Skinner said SB 206, called the “Fair Pay to Play Act,” would give California student-athletes the right to their name, image, and likeness, allowing them to earn money from sponsorships, endorsements and other activities related to their work and talent, starting in 2023.
The bill passed the state Assembly by a vote of 73-0 and the state Senate by a vote of 39-0. It now goes to Gov. Gavin Newsom for consideration.
“California is loud and clear: Our student athletes will no longer be denied the right to their name, image, and likeness, Skinner said in a statement.
“SB 206 brings an end to the exploitation of student athletes by the multibillion-dollar college sports industry, which generates wealth for all involved except the students,” Skinner said.
She said the bill doesn’t force colleges to pay but instead “simply opens the door for athletes to earn money just like any other student, whether it’s monetizing YouTube videos, teaching swim lessons, or accepting sponsorships.”
The bill was co-authored by state Sen. Steven Bradford, D-Gardena, who was an athlete and coach and has been a longtime supporter of student athletes, and state Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita.
Skinner said the bill prohibits California colleges from enforcing NCAA rules that prevent student-athletes from earning compensation and ensures that receiving income wouldn’t affect a student’s scholarship eligibility.
In addition, the bill would prohibit the NCAA from banning California universities from intercollegiate sports if their athletes sign sponsorship deals and allow college athletes to hire sports agents.
The NCAA warned Gov. Newsom in a letter on Wednesday that SB 206 would be “unconstitutional” and “harmful.”
The NCAA said, “If the bill becomes law and California’s 58 NCAA schools are compelled to allow an unrestricted name, image and likeness scheme, it would erase the critical distinction between college and professional athletics and, because it gives those schools an unfair recruiting advantage, would result in them eventually being unable to compete in NCAA competitions.”
The NCAA told Newsom that it “has consistently stood by its belief that student-athletes are students first and they should not be employees of the university.”
“With more than 1,100 schools and nearly 500,000 student-athletes across the nation, the rules and policies of college sports must be established through the association’s collaborative governance system,” NCAA
officials said. “A national model of collegiate sport requires mutually agreed-upon rules.”
19 comments
don’t really care
Well alrighty, then!
Put the battle between California and the NCAA on Pay-per-View, and let people bet on the outcome.
Put me down for $20 on the NCAA. I’m good for it.
I am not a fan of the NCAA, but I’m not going to bet against them in this battle.
wow
politicians paving the way for them to be paid directly from anyone
wow
changing the rules to benefit themselves ….and not others …
this state is way out of control
NCAA should drop all California teams from game rosters and ban California teams from NCAA playoff and bowl games. Then issue fines for $1M against each California college.
How about them apples Gavin?
Doesn’t sound like a good idea yet it had no opposition. We will see what we will see.
Agree fine them
Trying to recruit by paying the athlete off
NCAA should impose banning and fining and if demifornia wants back in they have to wait 3 years
Was reading this story paragraph by paragraph from the bottom up and asking myself, “Are all those people in Sacto smoking dope or something? Then I got to “…co-authored by state Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley …” and it finally made sense. Liberals in Californian think they are so awesome while the rest of they country laughs at their foolishness..
Of course the NCAA is against this. NCAA doesn’t want to see its cash cow disappear. It fears it will lose its hold on college athletics. But I don’t see how this is unconstitutional unless it is the NCAA constitution.
They’re paid anyway by boosters. NCAA Is a paper tiger who will now fold when other states follow. Why should the colleges make millions on the backs of these players and their images.
Might next step be they’ll unionize.
They really will be professional athletes.
What about eligibility for the Olympics?
They get a 4 year degree for free. Now they’ll get to make money off their image as well? The NCAA is not going to be pushed around by this dumb a$$ state. It’s going to hurt California colleges more than it will help the athletes. They’ll regret this.
About time. The NCAA along with plenty of others makes millions and millions each year off these athletes in return for tuition payment – only if they can play each year.
Sorry – it’s about time these athletes can profit from the hard work they put in above and beyond tuition.
“In addition, the bill would prohibit the NCAA from banning California universities from intercollegiate sports if their athletes sign sponsorship deals and allow college athletes to hire sports agents.”
That’s just adorable. The Kalifornia legislature seems to think it has some kind of jurisdiction over the NCAA.
A good friend in college would tell me the big booster came into the locker room after every game and handed out cash. He said he could not even count how many bills the star got (he played many years in the NBA).
Thank God! Professional athletes are not spoiled enough. Let’s start them out right. Thanks cali.
Not sure if this is a good idea – generally CA legislation is not – but I’m not going to cry any tears for the NCAA, which is a huge money-making machine built on the idea of ‘amateurism’ when it comes to student compensation but professionalism when it comes to *everything* else. If this is an early sign that the whole NCAA cartel is going to come crashing down, then I welcome it.
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