NCAA Comes to its Senses and Takes Major Step Towards Allowing Student-Athletes to Get Paid
By Michael Luciano
In what has been a long, arduous battle, those wishing to see college athletes fairly compensated for their name and likeness while in school appear to have won a major victory based on the NCAA's latest statement.
Perhaps spurred by several top basketball players deciding to play either internationally or in the G League over the NCAA ranks, the NCAA Board has allowed student-athletes to receive compensation from third-party endorsements starting in 2021.
The NCAA board announced it supports a rule change that would allow student-athletes to receive compensation for third-party endorsements both related to and separate from athletics, starting in 2021. It also supports compensation for other opportunities, including social media.
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) April 29, 2020
While the gaming-inclined sports fans of the world recognize that this could mean that college football and basketball video games could be on the way back, this has larger implications.
While allowing athletes to do things like set up coronavirus GoFundMe pages without fear of the league crashing down on them is a step in the right direction, it also means that top athletes will no longer face the wrath of the NCAA for trying to capitalize off of their name, which they would be able to do if they weren't forced to obey the NCAA's archaic amateurism doctrine.
The NCAA says it is expected to adopt new name, image and likeness rules for athletes starting 2021-22, allowing them to receive compensation for third-party endorsements and opportunities such as social media, businesses and personal appearances.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 29, 2020
The NCAA allowing athletes to make money in this fashion isn't going to totally put an end to the slimy, nefarious ways of one of the most exploitive administrative bodies in all of sports, but it's a start in allowing athletes that generate millions in revenue for their schools to see a small portion of that come back in their direction.