California bill to pay NCAA athletes takes another step

A bill in California that would allow college athletes to accept money endorsements is about to become law Monday night. The California State Assembly voted 72-0 in favor of the bill known as the Fair Pay to Play Act.

The Fair Pay to Play Act would prohibit California colleges and universities from withdrawing an athlete's scholarship or granting him or her the right of eligibility, as a punishment for that athlete who benefits from his name, image or likeness . If passed, the new law will come into force in January 2023.

The bill was introduced by Senator Nancy Skinner in February and received overwhelming support during the legislative process. The state Senate voted 31 to 5 to pass the bill in May. As it has since been amended, the bill is now sent to the Senate for approval. If the Senate votes again in his favor, he will find himself on the desk of Governor Gavin Newsom, who can sign it.

The California Senate is expected to vote on the amended bill soon, which would put it on the right path to land on Newsom's office by the end of September.

"For me, it's fundamental equity," Skinner told ESPN in August. "California law gives each of us the right not to use my name, to market my name or to make money with my name, or my photo, without my permission or without sharing those revenues with me. The only people in the whole state of California for whom this is the case are student athletes. "

California schools and the NCAA opposed the bill as it would be impossible for them to follow the NCAA's rules on amateurism. NCAA President Mark Emmert wrote a letter to lawmakers in May stating that the bill could prevent the NCAA from including California schools in national championship games if they These were governed by a different set of rules. Skinner and other lawmakers in California have interpreted Emmert's letter as a threat.

Emmert called on state politicians to give the NCAA more time to consider changing the treatment of names, images, and student-like rights. The organization has formed a working group to study possible changes to its current rules. This group is to report its findings to the NCAA Board of Governors sometime in October.

Skinner and others argued that the NCAA had ample time to re-examine its policies over the past decade, amid a series of civil lawsuits on similar issues. Skinner also noted that the NCAA had not acted since a commission called Condoleezza Rice had suggested last year that college athletes should be able to receive sponsorship money.

"It's a commission they've initiated themselves," Skinner said. "I would say, yes, they probably need some legislative pressure."

If the bill is signed by Newsom, the NCAA and other states will have three years to decide how they will react. Proponents of the bill hope that the recruiting benefit that California schools would have if athletes from that state had the right to earn money would encourage other states to pass legislation. similar. Several other states have already considered similar laws. Mark Walker, a congressman from North Carolina, has also proposed federal legislation that would have the same effect.