NCAA EXPLORING NIL COMPENSATION
The NCAA is reportedly forming a group to consider how its rules can be modified to allow collegiate athletes to be compensated for use of their names, images, and likenesses (NIL). However, the NCAA has made it clear multiple times that this working group would not consider anything that could be interpreted as paying athletes, but at least they are trying to figure out a way to compensate the student athletes.
NCAA president Mark Emmert and the board of governors announced yesterday that Big East commissioner Val Ackerman and Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith will lead the new federal and state legislation working group.
"While the formation of this group is an important step to confirming what we believe as an association, the group's work will not result in paying students as employees;” Smith said. "That structure is contrary to the NCAA's educational mission and will not be a part of this discussion.”
NCAA bylaws forbid athletes in most circumstances from receiving benefits or compensation for use of their NIL from a school or outside source. For instance, college athletes cannot participate in commercial advertising or sign autographs for money. Acts like this notably got Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manzie into trouble with the NCAA in 2013.
Former Georgia RB Todd Gurley is also among several prominent athletes suspended by the NCAA for receiving money for autographs. In 2014, Gurley received a four game suspension after an NCAA investigation determined that he had received $3,000 over a span of two years for signed autographs and memorabilia.
The NCAA's rules on amateurism have created an ongoing debate regarding "paying the players" and have faced several legal challenges in recent years. A federal antitrust lawsuit brought by former UCLA basketball star Ed O'Bannon in 2009 (O'Bannon v. NCAA) challenged the NCAA and its member schools' right to use athletes' NIL without compensation, especially in video games published by Electronic Arts. The case ultimately led to the elimination of the EA's NCAA Football video game series, an American tragedy.
Last year, a kicker at UCF gave up his scholarship rather than putting a halt to his profitable YouTube channel, which threatened to make him ineligible to play football. But on that same note, Notre Dame basketball star Arike Ogunbowale, was allowed to participate in the popular television show "Dancing with the Stars." Where do we draw the line?
The ugly truth is that the NCAA has been profiting on the backs of unpaid labor for way too long. I believe that given this Information Age we are living in with evermore e-commerce portals, social media networks, and growing transparency in the lives of student athletes, maybe it is time we take a closer look at these long-held rules and amend them.
Frankly, student-athletes are the only ones on a college campus who have to sign the pledge and hand over their rights to their image. What's crazy is that 99 percent of these student-athletes will never receive any kind of compensation from a professional sports organization. So basically, the NCAA is hindering any type of professional growth and networking. There are some brilliant folks at the NCAA, and they must acknowledge this.
