On Wednesday, the NCAA Board of Governors announced its support for a new policy allowing student athletes to cash in on their talent.
The proposal would permit athletes to be paid for endorsements, social media contracts and more – so long as they abide by certain restrictions and limitations. These rule changes are expected to go into effect at the start of the 2021-22 academic year.
Board of Governors moves toward allowing student-athlete compensation for endorsements and promotions: https://t.co/rzWzPt8KlI pic.twitter.com/bH9VoczjMr
— NCAA (@NCAA) April 29, 2020
In recent years, the NCAA has faced increasing pressure to allow student athletes to profit from their talent. While the new recommendations include significant financial opportunities for athletes, they also maintain ways for the NCAA and schools to regulate and cap endorsement deals.
Among other constraints, athletes will not be able to be paid directly by their schools and endorsements cannot be used for recruiting or by boosters. These restrictions may prove difficult to enforce and the NCAA has begun asking Congress for help in creating a single overarching law that applies to all schools.
This new NCAA proposal attempts to reach a compromise between paying athletes for their work and maintaining the organization’s amateur status. As NCAA President Mark Emmert stated in January, “The existential crisis to me is: Can we respond in a way that makes sense for our students and supports the college sports model?”
With states already passing their own laws permitting student athlete compensation and rallying support from professional athletes like LeBron James, the new NCAA recommendations arrive just in time.