College Athletes are getting paid (maybe)

So the NCAA announced today that they are going to allow players to profit off of their likeness, then they said they would look into it, as long as it fits the college model. This seems like a step in the right direction for athletes profiting off of their name, but nobody really knows how things are going to turn out. Obviously this has been brought up because of the California law recently passed that will allow athletes to profit off their name and likeness, and talks of a federal law soon to follow. While the NCAA is probably just trying to buy time so they can control the rules and not the government, it will be very interesting to see any potential proposals they come up with. Honestly I’m not sure how this is going to go down. I read an article that tried to remind everyone, it’s not just about the Zion’s of the world getting a cut, but also the “Division III volleyball player getting their piece of the pie”.

Where I think the NCAA would go wrong would be to have schools directly pay the players. The reason I think that would be horrendous is for a lot of reasons. Can Power 5 football schools just outbid smaller schools for recruits, effectively having free agency? Would a football player at Alabama get paid the same as a player at UMass? Would a football player at Clemson get paid the same as a women’s golf player at Clemson? Would a DI player get paid the same as a DIII player? I don’t see any of these questions having reasonable answers that “protect the college model” so I think we have to look at players making money for themselves. While that can come from the obvious things like a shoe deal, I think it also provides the opportunity for that DIII volleyball player to get paid a couple hundred bucks to endorse a local car dealership on a local TV ad. Allowing players to earn money themselves will act just like the market in the real world. If you’re worth the money, you’ll get paid. Similarly, if you’re worth a full scholarship, you’ll get one.

When these talks have been brought up in the past, I’ve often worried that the passion in college sports might dwindle, but if Zion could profit in college and maybe have decided to stay for more than a year if he was already making a shitload of money, wouldn’t that be good for the game? Ok yeah, Zion would probably go one-and-done in any world, but maybe a guy like Sam Dekker or Ed Oliver would have stuck around if they could earn a little cash in college.

At the end of the day, college sports will still be fantastic, and anything that brings back NCAAF Video games is something I have to support.