The governing body for college sports on Tuesday took the first steps toward allowing its athletes to monetize their fame — and perhaps end more than a century of hard-line codes on amateurism.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Board of Governors, meeting at Emory University in Atlanta, voted unanimously to begin a process that would let college athletes to “benefit from the use of their name, image and likeness.”
“We must embrace change to provide the best possible experience for college athletes,” said Michael Drake, chairman of the NCAA board and president of Ohio State University.
It wasn’t immediately clear when the NCAA could draft and implement new policies allowing athletes to earn money from endorsement deals.
“Additional flexibility in this area can and must continue to support college sports as a part of higher education,” Drake said.
“This modernization for the future is a natural extension of the numerous steps NCAA members have taken in recent years to improve support for student-athletes, including full cost of attendance and guaranteed scholarships.”
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The NCAA, which governs 450,000 athletes at more than 1,200 schools nationwide, insisted their athletes will still be amateur despite this new opportunity to earn money.
“As a national governing body, the NCAA is uniquely positioned to modify its rules to ensure fairness and a level playing field for student-athletes,” NCAA President Mark Emmert said.
“The board’s action today creates a path to enhance opportunities for student-athletes while ensuring they compete against students and not professionals.”
The NCAA’s historic move came almost one month after California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a first-in-the-nation bill that cleared the way for college players to be paid from endorsement deals.
The California legislation, which takes effect in 2023, allows student-athletes to sign endorsement deals and prohibits the NCAA and the schools from banning those compensated athletes.
“Colleges reap billions from student athletes but block them from earning a single dollar. That’s a bankrupt model,” Newsom tweeted after signing the bill.
The NCAA immediately tore into California’s new law — before seemingly embracing it four weeks later.
“Unfortunately this new law already is creating confusion for current and future student-athletes, coaches, administrators and campuses and not just in California,” the NCAA said in statement on Sept. 30.
The NCAA has become one of the sports world’s most powerful money-making machines, all off the labor of unpaid athletes.
Back in 2016, the NCAA and basketball TV partners CBS and Turner extended their March Madness championship tournament deal through 2032, with the networks reportedly paying the association an average of $1.1 billion per season.
ESPN and the NCAA are now in the midst of a 12-year, $7.3 billion deal to televise the College Football Playoff games.
Associated Press contributed.