Before anybody had any thought of a pandemic, it’s probably safe to say that nobody living east of the Mississippi River had ever heard of Gavin Newsom.
As the Governor of California, Newsom’s coronavirus agenda became much more newsworthy than any of his previous initiatives.
But as COVID-19 loosens its grip around the country, the “Fair Pay for Play” act Newsom signed into law in September 2019 is again front and center because beginning on July 1, several states that followed Newsom’s and California’s lead are set to provide their NCAA student-athletes an unprecedented income option beyond scholarship money.
Think endorsement deals, private coaching sessions, merchandise, public appearances, YouTube channels, autograph sessions.
This debate is not new.
“These kids get a free ride, that’s payment enough!”
“The NCAA makes billions from these kids, they deserve more!”
After Newsom signed his act, 17 other states passed similar legislation, under varying enactment dates.
And these pay for play plans in five states — Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and New Mexico — will begin on July 1, barring intervention from Congress or a potential NCAA proposal that would pull all states onto the same page.
As that lack of national standard gets closer, NCAA President Mark Emmert has pushed for passage of NCAA name, image and likeness (NIL) legislation. The NCAA had hoped to pass NIL rule in January, but a vote was tabled after the Department of Justice sent it a letter warning of possible antitrust issues.
The NCAA turned to Congress, hoping it could pass federal NIL legislation by July 1. That won’t happen. Emmert’s increased recent push for NCAA action may still result in a decision from his organization by July 1, though. He sent a memo to NCAA membership Friday pleading for action by that date.
It’s no coincidence that Alabama, Florida and Georgia are among the five states that want to grant their athletes earning power sooner rather than later. Newsom’s plan doesn’t even kick in until 2023, and he was the founding father of this push.
What a recruiting advantage this could become for those three SEC elites to add “earning power” to an already powerful recruiting brochure if the NCAA and/or Congress can’t reach a common solution for all states and schools before July 1.
Indiana is not among the 12 other states beyond these five already mentioned that have also passed similar acts with later adoption dates. State representatives have yet to voice much legislative interest, but the most powerful university in the state has.
Notre Dame director of athletics Jack Swarbrick has for years remained an outspoken advocate for the right of his student-athletes to profit from their names, images and likenesses.
And he doubled down in February by announcing that his university would not participate in the plans of EA Sports to relaunch its wildly popular NCAA football video game.
In a bold thanks-but-no-thanks statement, Swarbrick welcomed the return of EA Sports College Football, but added that Notre Dame would not “participate in the game until such time as rules have been finalized governing the participation of our student-athletes being allowed to benefit directly.”
As an example of Swarbrick’s stance, think back to March of 2018 when Arike Ogunbowale became the talk of the entire sports world during the NCAA Tournament with her miracle game-winning baskets and run to the national championship.
This new legislation, if passed uniformly then, would’ve given Ogunbowale the right to financially gain from her three weeks of fame through endorsement deals and other appearance opportunities.
Yet, at the time, Ogunbowale wasn’t even allowed to compete on “Dancing With the Stars” without first signing a waiver from the NCAA that included the forfeiture of any prize money she may have won on the show.
What about Manti Te’o, Jaylon Smith, Brady Quinn and Jeff Samardzija from yesteryear, or Ian Book and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah more recently?
They’re part of a long list of Irish greats who could’ve and should’ve benefited from this long-overdue chance to financially benefit from personal sacrifices now for the physical and cognitive price you might pay later.
What about Everett Golson? The former Irish quarterback was never much of an NFL prospect. All of his earning power and endorsement opportunities came and went during the 2012 football season when he led Notre Dame to the national championship game.
Though it has been reluctant until the 11th hour to answer the call, change is knocking on the NCAA’s door. A deadline looms and it’s time to stop stalling, climb out of the bank vault, come together and get one decision right to keep your playing field level.
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