Athletes could be able to profit from their names
The NCAA is looking at how its rules can be modified to allow college athletes to be compensated for their names, images and likenesses.
NCAA President Mark Emmert and the Board of Governors announced Tuesday that Big East Commissioner Val Ackerman and Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith will head a new working group on the topic.
“This group will bring together diverse opinions from the membership — from presidents and commissioners to studentathletes — that will examine the NCAA’s position on name, image and likeness benefits and potentially propose rule modifications tethered to education,” Ackerman said in a statement. “We believe the time is right for these discussions and look forward to a thorough assessment of the many complexities involved in this area.”
The NCAA said a final report from the working group is due to the Board of Governors in October.
NCAA rules forbid athletes in most circumstances from receiving benefits or compensation for their names, images and likenesses from a school or outside source. For example, college athletes cannot take part in commercial advertising or sign autographs for money — which infamously got Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel into trouble with the NCAA in 2013.
“While the formation of this group is an important step to confirming what we believe as an association, the group’s work will not result in paying students as employees,” Smith said. “That structure is contrary to the NCAA’s educational mission and will not be a part of this discussion.”
The NCAA’s amateurism rules have faced several legal challenges in recent years and threats from lawmakers. A federal antitrust lawsuit brought by former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon in 2009 challenged the NCAA and its member schools’ right to use athletes’ names, images and likenesses without compensation.
The case led to the elimination of the NCAA Football video game series and in 2014 U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken ruled the NCAA could not restrict schools from paying athletes up to $5,000 per year for names, images and likenesses. That part of the ruling was overturned on appeal.