College Athletes and the "Fair Pay to Play" Act

From Inside Higher Ed: The National Collegiate Athletic Association is fighting a California bill that would let certain athletes to make money off their name, image or likeness, which NCAA officials and other traditionalists argue would undermine the "amateurism" of college sports.

NCAA President Mark Emmert sent a letter last week to the chairs of the two California State Assembly committees that vote on the Fair Pay to Play Act, USA Today first reported. The legislation already passed the State Senate in a 31-5 vote. It would permit athletes to be compensated if the college they attend earns an average of $10 million in media rights revenue a year.

At least 23 institutions in the state participate in Division I athletics, including four universities in the high-ranking Pacific-12 Conference.

The bill is the latest pressure the NCAA faces to rework its rules on athlete compensation on name, image or likeness. Pundits have accused the association and its member institutions of profiting off players while not sharing the wealth with them. The NCAA has maintained that paying athletes would push the college system too far into professional territory.

Emmert in his letter insinuated that California institutions both public and private would be barred from participating in NCAA championships...

But the bill's passage does seem likely. The Assembly's Arts, Entertainment, Sports, Tourism and Internet Media Committee, one of the panels that Emmert wrote to, approved the legislation today in a 5-1 vote, with 1 member not voting and another absent. It is now due to be reviewed by the Higher Education Committee.

Though the Legislature is overwhelmingly liberal, the bill seems to have bipartisan support, as indicated by the Senate vote.

Washington Post sportswriter Sally Jenkins wrote in a blistering column that Emmert was bluffing and "California should call him out on it."

"You really think Emmert is going to tell ESPN, CBS and Turner to take a hit in one of their biggest media markets, that the tournaments and bowl championships they paid billions of dollars in rights fees for will have to be played without the heart of the Pac-12?" Jenkins wrote. "'Sorry, CBS, but you can't have Stanford, Southern Cal, UCLA or Cal, because their kids might've made some cash from selling T-shirts with their own pictures on them.'" ...

The University of California system is... against the bill. The NCAA did not respond to additional request for comment.

The bill also would forbid colleges from discontinuing or reducing athletes' scholarships if they were also earning money from their name, image or likeness. If a player was seeking an agent, or other professional representation, that person would need to be licensed by the state, the bill stipulates...

Full story at https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/06/26/ncaa-may-not-allow-participation-championship-games-if-california-bill-passes
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The bill, SB 206, is at https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB206