Calfornia’s governor, Gavon Newsome, signed the Fair Pay to Play Act into law on Monday, which means college athletes in the state of California will be able to hire agents and be paid for endorsements, starting in 2023.
It did not take long for other states lawmakers to propose similar bills to make this a reality in their states as Florida and Illinois’ lawmakers have done so. If these bills are voted and signed into the law, college athletes will be able to earn money off their likeness and images for the first time. Of course, there are some people, who are opposed to the paying of college athletes.
Ohio State’s athletic director, Gene Smith, spoke out against it on Tuesday.
“My concern with the California bill, which is all the way wide open with monetizing your name and your likeness, is it moves slightly towards pay-for-play,” Smith said, “It’s very difficult for us, the practitioners in this space, to figure out how do you regulate it. How do you ensure that the unscrupulous bad actors do not enter that space and ultimately create an unlevel playing field?”
As talks about this move continue to heat up, specifics on how players will receive compensation have not been set in stone.
So, if and when does the state of Alabama adopt a similar bill and sign it into law?
The state of Alabama is home to two of the top college athletic programs in the nation, The University of Alabama and Auburn University, which means eyes will be focused on how the state plans to handle this trend.
Alabama football’s head coach, Nick Saban, said he has not paid much attention to California’s new law in a teleconference on Monday.
“I do not really have much of a reaction to it,” Saban said. “I honestly do not know enough about the details.”
This reaction is an expected one from the six-time national championship coach, who constantly preaches taking things one game at a time and focusing on what is in front of him now and at this point, Saban is focused on making his team better during their BYE week.
According to budget documents filed to NCAA by UA, the Tide’s football team had a total revenue of $108.2 million and a profit of $45.9 million last season. None of that profit went directly to a college athlete on Alabama’s football team, which is one of the reasons, advocates of the pay to play movement are fighting for a change.
It is safe to say the Alabama football program has their minds set on competing for another national championship at the moment, but they might not be able to escape the talks of this trend as it could be only a matter of time before every college athlete is paid for their likeness and image.
