NCAA sends a letter to the governor of California about a bill allowing athletes to earn income | Bleacher's report

The NCAA sent Wednesday a letter to California governor Gavin Newsom explaining the consequences of Should the State Senate Bill 206 be promulgated?

Under the bill, university athletes in California would be eligible for compensation under a "name, image and likeness restricted. "The NCAA Board of Governors insisted that the passage of the bill" would erase the distinction between academic and professional athletics and eliminate the element of equity that supports all university sports ".

The NCAA also indicated in its letter that the 58 NCAA schools in California would no longer be allowed to compete in the NCAA competitions if the bill were passed because they would have an "unfair advantage in recruiting" over to other member schools in the country.

By Steve Berkowitz of United States today, the The State Assembly of California passed the bill by a vote of 72-0 on Monday. If Newsom signs the bill, athletes from California State Colleges will begin to take advantage of their name, image and likeness as of January 1, 2023.

In his letter to Newsom, the NCAA noted that while it strives to allow student athletes to use their own image, it does not think that they should be paid to play:

"The NCAA continues to focus on the best interests of all student-athletes in the country, and NCAA member schools are already working to change the rules so that all student-athletes can use their name, image, and likeness. appropriately, in accordance with our values ​​- but without paying for them.The NCAA has always maintained its belief that student athletes are primarily students and should not be university employees. "

The adoption of the law could result in the fall of the NCAA in major schools such as USC, UCLA and Stanford, but it could also have a ripple effect across the country.

Since other schools may lose the best student athletes to California-based schools, this may force other states to adopt similar laws in the future.

The NCAA, however, felt the bill was "unconstitutional" and it is clear that the bill that would become law would not put an end to the long question of whether student athletes should be paid.