‘Game changer’: Texas may join other states in letting college athletes profit from their names
After decades of unpaid college athletes feeling exploited in a multibillion-dollar industry, they’re closer than ever to benefiting from their names, images and likenesses.
Texas Longhorns defensive back Caden Sterns (7) signals to fans to cheer during the fourth quarter of a college football game between Baylor and the University of Texas on Saturday, October 13, 2018 at Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. (Ashley Landis/The Dallas Morning News)(Ashley Landis / Staff Photographer)
AUSTIN Caden Sterns, a former safety for the Texas Longhorns, remembers the uncertainty surrounding the 2020 college football season as COVID-19 persisted through the summer.
The clock is ticking on what the future of college sports will look like. The NCAA went to Congress last year seeking help to pass federal legislation that would give athletes the right to market their name, image and likeness (NIL). The idea is to create a uniform policy rather than a state-by-state framework, which could start July 1 when is set to begin.
“Now we have leverage because (colleges) are facing a threat to their revenue model,” U.S. Sen. Cory Booker said at the Aspen Institute’s Future of Sports conversation event on Feb. 19. “It gives me a chance in my position in the Senate, along with a lot of great Senate partners, to say we are not going to settle these issues unless you make a commitment to the health and safety of our athletes.”
Shares2
As of January 14, the only state that can accurately and confidently declare that college athletes will have the ability to commercialize their names, images, and likenesses in 2021 is Florida. That is true despite numerous college athletic programs announcing the creation of programs, bearing unique names such as LEVERAGE and SOAR.
For some time, there has been little to no doubt that college athletes across the country will be able to enjoy some form of publicity rights, even if it meant that athletes in certain states (such as Florida) may have more expansive and less restrictive rights than athletes in other states that have either passed legislation on the subject that will go into effect after 2021 or otherwise. The belief was that the NCAA would finally step up to the plate and hold a vote on proposed legislation with an effective date of August 1, 2021.
U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Richard Blumenthal on Wednesday criticized the NCAA's decision this week to table proposals to relax its restrictions on athletes earning money from the use of their name, image and likeness, arguing it is evidence of why their "College Athletes Bill of Rights" needs to be passed.