NCAA to let athletes cash in on their fame
Board votes to allow profit from use of their image
ATLANTA — The NCAA Board of Governors voted Tuesday to allow amateur athletes to cash in on their fame. The unanimous decision will allow athletes to “benefit from the use of their name, image and likeness.”
The NCAA and its member schools now must figure out how to allow athletes to profit while still maintaining rules regarding amateurism. The board asked each of the NCAA’s three divisions to create the necessary new rules beginning immediately and have them in place no later than January 2021.
“The board is emphasizing that change must be consistent with the values of college sports and higher education and not turn student-athletes into employees of institutions,” said board chair Michael Drake after the decision was announced at Emory University in Atlanta.
The news raised the prospect that the EA sports division in Maitland might start making its NCAA football video game again.
The company ceased production of the popular game in 2013 because of a lawsuit against it and the NCAA by former players over likeness rights.
“We saw the news today as you all did,’’ said Andrew Wilson, EA’s CEO, during an earnings conference call Tuesday. “We are aware of it and are still digesting it. There is still a number of things that would have to happen over the coming years before we would get back into it, but it’s something we are watching closely.”
The NCAA’s shift came a month after California passed a law that would make it illegal for NCAA schools in the state to prohibit college athletes from making money on such activities as endorsements, autograph signings and social media advertising.
California’s law goes into effect in 2023. More than a dozen states have followed with similar legislation; some are hoping to have laws in effect as soon as 2020. Florida, too, has a similar proposal before its Legislature, which convenes in January.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who added his voice to the calls for the NCAA to allow athletes to make money off of their names and likenesses earlier this month, applauded the move.
“Great news for college athletes in FL & across our country,” DeSantis posted on Twitter. “I’m extremely pleased the NCAA has realized that this is a matter of fairness & equity, & that these athletes should have the opportunity to receive appropriate compensation for the use of their name, image & likeness.”
DeSantis came out in favor of the bills filed in Florida to allow college athletes to hire agents in addition to being reimbursed for the use of their name and image.
But Senate President Bill
Galvano said his chamber isn’t necessarily on board.
“In terms of interacting with the senators, it’s a bit of a mixed bag, [and] I have my reservations about moving college athletes into the realm of professional athletes in many regards,” said Galvano, R-Bradenton, before news of the NCAA’s decision broke on Tuesday.
Some college sports leaders fear allowing athletes to earn outside income could open the door to corruption.
“One of the most distinctive things about college sports is this whole recruitment process,” NCAA President Mark Emmert said. “The whole notion of trying to maintain as fair a playing field as you can is really central to all this. And using sponsorship arrangements, in one way or another, as recruiting inducements is something everybody is deeply concerned about.”
A group of NCAA administrators has been exploring since May the ways in which athletes could be allowed to receive compensation for the use of their names, images and likenesses. The task force, led by Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith and Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman, presented a status report Tuesday to the Board of Governors, composed of university presidents.
The NCAA has said state laws that contradict the national governing body’s rules could lead to athletes being declared ineligible or schools not being allowed to compete.
There is also a federal bill in the works, sponsored by North Carolina Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Walker, that could prevent the NCAA and its member schools from restricting its athletes from selling the rights to their names, images and likenesses to third-party buyers on the open market.