The NCAA Will Begin The Process To ‘Permit Athletes To Benefit From Their Name, Image And Likeness’

After an initial pushback to California’s “Fair Pay To Play” Act, the NCAA appears to have started to recognize the tides of change when it comes to college athletes being allowed to be compensated for their name, image, and likeness.

A number of other states have introduced similar legislation to California and the NCAA seems to have realized they were not going to win this war. As such, the Board of Governors voted unanimously on Tuesday to begin the process of allowing college athletes to benefit from the use of their name, image, and likeness, with the expected caveats. It’s important to note that this is just the beginning of what will surely be a lengthy process of coming up with a protocol for athletes to work out endorsement deals and such.

The NCAA listed a number of guidelines and principles that are to be followed, most notably the “reaffirm that student-athletes are students first and not employees of the university.” That one, in particular, indicates the NCAA finally saw this as an opportunity to open up students to get paid without admitting the member universities should be the ones to pay them, which they hope will quiet the push for actual payment for all the revenue these athletes produce.

Specifically, the board said modernization should occur within the following principles and guidelines:

  • Assure student-athletes are treated similarly to non-athlete students unless a compelling reason exists to differentiate.
  • Maintain the priorities of education and the collegiate experience to provide opportunities for student-athlete success.
  • Ensure rules are transparent, focused and enforceable and facilitate fair and balanced competition.
  • Make clear the distinction between collegiate and professional opportunities.
  • Make clear that compensation for athletics performance or participation is impermissible.
  • Reaffirm that student-athletes are students first and not employees of the university.
  • Enhance principles of diversity, inclusion and gender equity.
  • Protect the recruiting environment and prohibit inducements to select, remain at, or transfer to a specific institution.

As Sam Cooper of Yahoo Sports pointed out, though, the NCAA states on its website that it does still find the bill passed in California to be unconstitutional, and that it is keeping all of its options on the table as the ball metaphorically moves down the field elsewhere.

Naturally this brings some deserved skepticism about the urgency with which the NCAA would act on this, as the organization has done everything in its power to resist any progress on this front over the years. In the event this does lead to something positive for athletes, it stands to reason that the NCAA’s focus will be on trying to make sure that endorsement deals don’t become recruitment deals, a battle that would be a fascinating one to watch play out because it will be difficult (if done well) to prove.

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