By Eric Umphrey
The Times 

New law allows California college athletes to get paid

 

October 10, 2019



A new California State law will allow California college student-athletes to get paid for use of their name, image or likeness in 2023. It also allows students to hire an agent to represent them. As more and more money has been made by everyone involved except the athletes on the field, it felt like this day was coming. Here’s hoping that this new law will ultimately disrupt the NCAA and force it to reform. However, in its current form this law seems like an attempt to help only a select few athletes in a single state instead of helping the greater student-athlete population.

How did this start?

Ed O’Bannon, a former UCLA basketball player, filed a lawsuit against the NCAA in July 2009 over an EA Sports game NCAA Basketball 09. The game featured a player that used his likeness and Ed wasn’t paid for it. In 2014 a judge ruled in favor of Ed O’Bannon contending that barring payments to athletes violated antitrust laws. The NCAA has appealed the ruling. EA Sports settled out of court for $40 million dollars to be distributed among as many as 100,000 current and former athletes. EA Sports also as a result of the ruling stopped making college video game titles.

Is there a limit on how much an athlete can earn?

No, not at this time which could have a huge effect on recruiting.

Who would this help?

Likely a very tiny percentage of student athletes that would go pro anyway. A California version of Tim Tebow maybe? Someone who garners a lot of media attention but ultimately is not quite good enough to have a career as a professional athlete. Advertisers and agents will certainly make loads of money off of this. Men’s NCAA Division I basketball and football players will likely get the most deals and the most money as the NFL and NBA have the biggest endorsement deals in professional sports.

Who does it hurt?

Everyone else. This will definitely hurt the NCAA as it currently stands. Lawsuits against the California law are certain to begin. At this point all non California State colleges and athletes are hurt by this law. Having to compete against schools who pay their players will make the games less competitive. As other states develop similar laws, the smaller colleges and smaller states will be at a competitive disadvantage. If similar legislation were passed in Washington State, the opportunities for advertising would be much smaller than in California. Even within Washington State, imagine the disparity between the University of Washington and Washington State for local advertising? Who wants to see the Washington Huskies sponsored by Amazon and Microsoft? This puts schools like Gonzaga at risk.

What other states are looking at laws to pay players?

Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania and South Carolina are all close to presenting legislation that matches or expands on the California law. Without a national standard to apply to all states and caps on pay this will get really messy really fast.

 

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