Slowly but surely, it seems like the NCAA will finally succumb to the pressure. For decades upon decades, student-athletes have been limited by the NCAA, unable to receive financial benefits for their athletic achievements and their likeness. Florida and California are looking to change that however, as both states have passed a bill allowing for their student-athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness.
For California, the law will kick into effect in 2023. However for Florida, governor Ron DeSantis signed the bill earlier today, and it will play into effect come July 1st, 2021. The NCAA has been pushing heavily against this since the beginning of their existence, and things may get interesting next year.
After California passed the bill last year, the NCAA threatened to ban the state from competitions, claiming they would have an “unfair” advantage in recruiting student-athletes. However, now that Florida has joined the movement, it makes that decision much harder for the NCAA. Not to mention, all power five commissioners have advocated for the bill to pass, applying tremendous amounts of pressure on the NCAA.
California and Florida are two of the biggest, most competitive states when it comes to college sports as a whole. It would be very difficult for the NCAA to ban both of them when major programs such as Stanford, USC, Florida, The U, are in those states. The fact that two of the biggest states are challenging the NCAA right now has put them in a rough position, deciding whether or not to give up their power and their control over the student-athletes.
The movement in which California and Florida are spearheading, is a movement that I agree with to the fullest. The bill in which they passed does not mean that the university would have to pay them in cash up front. They already receive scholarships from them, so I agree that they don’t need anything else from the university. The player likeness bill is actually advocating for players and their ability to receive endorsement deals and sponsorships for their image from outside organizations. That also means that players with other talents (YouTube personalities, models etc.) can profit off of those skills as well.
The NCAA has doubled down on their stance, claiming that the bill would ruin the integrity of the sport; an argument in which I believe is false. The best teams will still end receiving the best recruits, and they will still end up winning at the end of the day. Whether or not an athlete is able to receive a Nike shoe deal will not interfere with that.
In my honest opinion, the student-athletes have been restricted for too long, and it’s time for them to receive some liberties. Once Florida’s bill passes next year in July, it will be interesting to see how many other states jump ship and join them, as well as the reaction from the NCAA.
It's about time they get paid. Johnny Manziel thinks so, and so do I.