Conn. falls behind as college athletes get paid

Can you hear that? Tick, tick, tick ... That’s the clock, and it’s running out. There’s no halftime this time. On July 1 the buzzer will go off that changes the college sports landscape. That’s when college athletes in six states can start getting paid by third parties for use of their image and likeness. Without active legislation, Connecticut is in a deep hole.

In some cases the athletes will have mild obligations, such as showing up for camps and business openings. Otherwise, they won’t even have to get off the bench. The real money is in sponsoring content on social media, which is why soon-to-be-eligible college stars are branding their hashtags.

While the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team reliably gives us national bragging rights, we’re poised to tumble in these new rankings for player compensation. Arizona, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and New Mexico all have legislation in place so players can start pulling in coin July 1.

State Sen. Derek Slap (D-West Hartford) tried to get Connecticut in the game, but his bill was benched as COVID shut down last year’s session. He now says, “It would be nice if Connecticut isn’t the last state.”

Alas, we could be destined to land in the basement. If the pandemic was a big timeout, Connecticut has forgotten to get back in the game this session. Somehow, no one has thought to introduce legislation to ensure Connecticut is playing on a level playing field.

Put yourself in the sneakers of the teen wunderkind contemplating scholarships to play ball for the Huskies or, say, the Crimson Tide in Alabama. One school can only offer scholarships, but the other has extra carrots in the form of earnings from social media endorsements with virtually little extra work.

Suddenly, the potential stars of the future never even bother to visit Connecticut campuses.

Then there’s the current roster. Paige Bueckers, fresh out of her freshman season as the newly minted face of women’s college basketball, has massive earning potential. How’s that going to play out when her opponents are getting paid and she’s not?

If you don’t think there’s big money in college sports, consider that departing UConn President Thomas Katsouleas earned a base salary of $540,750, but UConn women’s hoops coach Geno Auriemma’s annual paycheck is $2.7 million.

U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy are teaming up with colleagues from other states to get national legislation on the board. Blumenthal’s days as attorney general seasoned him to reason that a push by the feds will finally motivate the NCAA.

UConn has taken welcome steps to prepare athletes to handle these new income streams, a collaboration with David Noble, director of the school’s Peter J. Werth Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. It gets to the core mission of any college: education. There will be steep learning curve for colleges as well .

Tick, tick, tick. Time is almost up, and Connecticut will need to start hustling to stay in the game.

Paige Bueckers, fresh out of her freshman season as the newly minted face of women’s college basketball, has massive earning potential. How’s that going to play out when her opponents are getting paid and she’s not?