NCAA Takes Next Steps Towards Allowing Athletes To Make Money, Sets First Meeting For Potential New Rules

The NCAA is taking more steps towards allowing college athletes to be paid for their image and likeness.

Chicago Tribune reports that the NCAA Board of Directors is expected to be briefed Tuesday by administrators who have been researching how it can allow athletes to be compensated for their name, likeness, images, and brand while still adhering to NCAA guidelines.

The move comes after the NCAA was heavily criticized and pressured by lawmakers across the country to follow along with California’s mission to bend prohibitions on athletes being paid, which would affect more than 450,000 NCAA athletes. The Chicago Tribune reports that Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith and Big East Conference Commissioner Val Ackerman, the leaders of the NCAA’s name, image and likenesses working group, will present a progress report to the board at Emory University in Atlanta. This will be one of the first steps in the process and could likely take months or years.

“I don’t expect a report saying that we’re going to stay exactly like we are. I don’t think we’re going to get a status quo report,” Atlantic 10 Conference Commissioner Bernadette McGlade said last week. She said she expected it to be the first of many steps, “certainly not a final report.” The NCAA has historically blocked athletes from being able to make money from their schools and endorsements with very little exceptions. 

The California law would prevent athletes from losing their scholarships or being kicked off their teams for signing endorsement deals. The new rule will not take effect until 2023.