Like or hate it, on Sept. 30, 2019: California became the first state to pass a law allowing college athletes to be paid for use of their names, images and likenesses (NIL). Gov. Gavin Newsom called the Fair Pay to Play Act, which they set to take effect in 2023 and later accelerated to September 2021, “the beginning of a national movement.” NCAA officials called it “harmful,” “unconstitutional” and an “existential threat” to college sports.
On June 12, 2020: Florida passes a law granting NIL rights to college athletes with an effective date of July 1, 2021.
June 21, 2021: The U.S. Supreme Court rules unanimously that the NCAA can’t limit education-related benefits to athletes. Although the case, Alston vs. NCAA, doesn’t directly involve NIL or pay-for-play, the court’s decision is seen as setting the stage for further legal challenges to rules limiting athlete compensation. “Nowhere else in America can businesses get away with agreeing not to pay their workers a fair market rate on the theory that their product is defined by not paying their workers a fair market rate,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh writes. “The NCAA is not above the law.” this ruling coming shortly after Mark Emmert tried to head off the inevitable by testifying in congress.
July 1, 2021: College athletes across the nation begin signing endorsement deals. The new laws take effect in Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Texas. And in all other states, the “interim” NCAA policy takes effect eventually becoming what we see today and effectively changing the face of college sports as we knew it forever.
So where do you stand on the subject today. Is it good or bad for college sports. Where do you see NIL taking college sports from here.
