Open cash register

Proposal could allow athletes to monetize likeness

College athletes could soon have the ability to monetize their name, image and likeness, as the NCAA Board of Governors endorsed a plan on Wednesday to allow for that opportunity. It would allow athletes to earn money for endorsements and a host of other activities involving personal appearances and social media content.

The issue of name, image and likeness, which coined the acronym NIL, has been debated for years. In 2009, former UCLA men’s basketball player Ed O’Bannon filed an antitrust suit over the matter, which he won in 2014, though it was later overturned, in part, on appeal. The NCAA’s presidents will have to approve the Board of Governors’ recommended change next January, but it’s expected that they will, given the pressure coming from legislation that is pending or has passed in numerous states, beginning with California.

“The NCAA’s work to modernize name, image and likeness continues,” said Ohio State AD Gene Smith, co-chair of the working group that endorsed the plan. “We plan to make these important changes on the original timeline, no later than January 2021.”

UConn athletic director David Benedict is in favor of the move and what may be to come.

“I am supportive of student-athletes being allowed the opportunity to monetize

their name, image and likeness,” Benedict said, in a statement from the school, “and am looking forward to learning more about the legislative process to determine how we and our student-athletes can move forward in a thoughtful way to ensure

FRANK FRANKLIN II/AP Members of the UConn women’s basketball team may soon be able to monetize their names, images and likenesses.

STEPHEN DUNN/SPECIAL TO THE COURANT UConn athletic director David Benedict is in favor of the NCAA’s proposal for athletes to monetize their likenesses.