Fair Pay to Play Act Long Overdue

California Governor Gavin Newsom has just signed a new piece of legislation designed to allow college athletes to profit from their name and likeness. SB 206, authored by State Senators Nancy Skinner and Steve Bradford, will allow college athletes in the state of California to sign endorsements or group licensing contracts. The NCAA does not allow such payments to be made to collegiate athletes and is vociferously opposing this bill. The bill is long overdue as an antidote for athletes, especially those that struggle to live reasonably on their college scholarship check.

Last year colleges and universities grossed almost $14 billion from athletic revenues. The NCAA itself made over $1 billion. College athletes live on their scholarship checks. Athletes from financially challenged homes may send some of the check home to help their parents. It is impossible for athletes to have the same lifestyle on a campus that their non-athletic peers do. Other students may get allowances from their parents or certainly have the ability to work during the school year and supplement their income, whereas athletes cannot. So an athlete in an urban setting, like UCLA's location in the midst of expensive Bel Air, must live far from campus to afford the rent. That means they need a car to commute to campus. A former UCLA athlete reported that outside of training table, he and his roommates only ate top ramen noodles. They look around at the lifestyles of other students and become resentful.

These athletes see their jersey number sold in the student store, are aware of the massive television contracts, packed stadiums and also know they are not seeing any revenue share outside of the scholarship money. Certainly the scholarship has financial value, but many of the athletes are only on the campus as a way station to a professional career. One and done in basketball and the junior rule in football, make it difficult for an athlete who leaves school early to graduate anyway. I wish all student athletes would take advantage of the opportunity to matriculate, but we cannot force them to. 

This financial inequity is the genesis of athletes looking to alums or sports agents to enhance their situation. This leads to NCAA violations and scandals. People may argue that only the superstars in college sports will have the brand and profile to actually benefit from endorsements, but this is exactly the group targeted by agents and alumni.

The "attendance clauses" recently enacted in college sports can provide an extra $3-$5,000 more in compensation to athletes in major sports. Title IX however mandates that whatever is done for male athletes must be done for an equal amount of female athletes, so there are limitations. Years ago, UCLA basketball star Ed O'Bannon sued the NCAA because a video game was using his name and license. He started a movement for a more fair system of compensation for college athletes that is just now coming to fruition.