College Athletics Rocked by NCAA Landmark Decision
East Lansing, MI— In a world full of hyperbole, I can assure you that today the NCAA made an announcement that was not. The NCAA rocked the landscape of college athletics by a landmark decision to allow "Moving towards" athletes to profit off of their name and likeness.
The NCAA said, "While student-athletes would be permitted to identify themselves by sport and school, the use of conference and school logos, trademarks or other involvement would not be allowed. The board emphasized that at no point should a university or college pay student-athletes for name, image, and likeness activities."
So, what does that mean for the game? A highly respected athletic director who has not been authorized by his university or conference to comment told Spartan Nation, "They had to do it. Once California made their law, they had to either do the same or kick all California schools out of the NCAA. If you hadn't done that, every kid would head out there because they would get paid."
One thing often overlooked in most phases of life is the law of unintended consequences.
A football coach from one of America's most successful schools, also not authorized by his university or conference to speak publicly, told Spartan Nation, "We all know who the schools are that cheat. Now, anyone with a wealthy alumnus can step in the game promising endorsement deals. Sure they will be told they can't, but they will."
Think about if a MAC school has a wealthy alumnus who will step up and promise to sign a recruit to an endorsement deal. If they have one guy with deeper pockets, he could now level the playing field for smaller schools, unlike anything we have seen since scholarship limitations."
The coach went on to add, "The reverse is that a big school with deep pockets could, in theory, offer a lot more from their donor base. I don't like this one bit, but I don't think you could do anything to stop it."
The NCAA seemed to be addressing that coach's specific concern when it additionally said today, "The board is requiring guardrails around any future name, image and likeness activities. These would include no name, image, and likeness activities that would be considered pay for play; no school or conference involvement; no use of name, image and likeness for recruiting by schools or boosters; and the regulation of agents and advisors."
Sterling Heights, Michigan, attorney Jeff Michalowski from the SMD Law firm, is an active advertiser in the sports world and a former college football player. He said of potentially hiring current college athletes to endorse products, "I am not sure a college player would speak to my exact clientele. But as a former player, I support it and think it was time."
Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde said in part of the decision, "It is moving outside the walls of castle amateurism that have been up forever. But it is happening now. It will be a messy process. It will be complicated. There will be times when it will be rife for abuse. But this is the right step at the right time for college sports. And this will be to the benefit of college athletes and people who've been calling for decades for them to be paid."
Successful Dearborn, Michigan, financial advisor Tom Folino, a University of Michigan graduate, said, "I wouldn't hire college athletes to advertise my company. My target demographic would relate better to a player who had a successful professional career." Folino added of the financial impact on players, "One in a hundred can handle failure, but only one in a thousand can handle success. I think the NCAA should let these kids profit, we live in a free-market society, but they (NCAA) should educate them on how to handle it financially."
One question multiple fans are asking is if the beloved college football video games eliminated via a lawsuit previously will return? The NCAA at this time isn't thinking a broad licensing deal "is feasible," according to the aforementioned athletic director.
As far as when this new ruling will take effect, the NCAA said today, "The board's recommendations now will move to the rules-making structure in each of the NCAA's three divisions for further consideration. The divisions are expected to adopt new name, image, and likeness rules by January to take effect at the start of the 2021-22 academic year."
Tell us what you think about this latest development in the comment section below.
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