The California State Senate unanimously passed SB 206 on Sept. 11. The bill would allow collegiate athletes to profit off of their own name, image, and likeness.
In addition to allowing athletes to be paid, this bill promises to protect athletes from possible negative effects of earning money. Athletes will be required to sign an agent that will protect them from issues such as a rescinded scholarships or altered contracts from an academic institution or athletic organization.
The bill also notes schools are not required to change minimum amount of scholarships awarded or the ways in which they recruit players.
The Fair Pay to Play Act, the more common name for SB 206, has driven controversy across social media among people in the athletic community.
Rodney Peete, former USC quarterback and NFL athlete, told Annenberg Media the bill is long overdue. Peete said not allowing college athletes a cut of earnings from things such as jersey sales, which make millions of dollars for universities, is “not fair, and frankly, that’s unamerican”.
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“You cannot work if you’re on scholarship, you can’t work during the school year…. They need to find a solution for this and I’m glad this bill came out,” Peete said in an interview with Annenberg Media.
Current USC crew team member Cameron Antoine-Dillon said the bill would make their experiences as a student-athlete much more manageable.
“Even as a regular student it is hard to afford college comfortably, and on top of that, it is important to have some extra money,” Antoine-Dillon said in an interview with Annenberg Media.
Antoine-Dillon also thinks the stigma that “college athletes aren’t as privileged as everyone says they are” needs to change and “they deserve reprimands for their hard work.”
Antoine-Dillon said many student-athletes don’t completely understand what they’re signing up for.
In a letter to California Governor Gavin Newsom, the NCAA said it fears, if the bill becomes law, the line between college and professional athletes will become blurred. If so, the organization said it would prohibit California’s 58 NCAA schools from competing in future competitions.
In a statement, USC shared the same opinion as the NCAA in regards to the future of the Fair Pay to Play Act.
“The proposed California law would encourage student-athletes to violate NCAA bylaws relating to amateurism and receiving outside compensation,” the university said in a statement.
The bill is now awaiting signature from Governor Newsom for it to become law. If signed, it will take effect on Jan. 1 2023.
Gigi Pennoyer contributed to this report.