NCAA presses Senate for ‘guardrails’ on athlete pay

NCAA President Mark Emmert urged Congress to put restrictions on college athletes’ ability to earn money from endorsements, telling a Senate committee Tuesday that federal action was needed to “maintain uniform standards in college sports” amid playerfriendly laws approved in California and under consideration in other states.

The NCAA last fall said it would allow players to “benefit” from the use of their name, image and likeness and is working on rules that it plans to reveal in April. Under the NCAA’s timeline, athletes would be able to take advantage of endorsement opportunities beginning in January.

Meanwhile, more than half of U.S. states are considering legislation that would force the NCAA to allow players to earn money off their personal brand. California passed a law last year that gives broad endorsement rights to players that is set to take effect in 2023. Florida and other states could grant players those rights as soon as this year.

“If implemented, these laws would give some schools an unfair recruiting advantage and open the door to sponsorship arrangements being used as a recruiting inducement. This would create a huge imbalance among schools and could lead to corruption in the recruiting process,” Emmert said.

The NCAA, the Big 12 and ACC spent $750,000 last year lobbying on Capitol Hill, in part to communicate their concern that “guardrails” are needed to avoid destroying college sports as we know it.