California governor signs bill allowing college athletes to capitalize on

[PetraG]

Outside of sports, particularly in the field of science students do not make money from their work in college. The college benefits and profits, the students get a degree. I have no problem with colleges making money for the sports I watch. I played in college athletics, no part of me feels cheated.

Well, no, a college student on scholarship is perfectly free to make money as a tutor, if they want. They can take paid acting work, even if they’re on a drama scholarship or paid work as musicians if they’re on a music scholarship. They can take paid writing work, even if they are on a scholarship for an English degree. They aren’t barred from making money from either the talents that got them into the university nor the notoriety they have for excelling in their chosen field. They could do consulting work and if they’re science majors they could get a job in a lab, either during the school year or when school is not in session. They could start a company, if they wanted, even if they’re business majors.

In contrast, student athletes are stripped of their amateur status and thus their right to participate within NCAA sporting events if they receive payment for their athletic skills. A student-athlete will lose their ability to participate in NCAA sporting events if they are discovered to be receiving payment through commercial advertisement, promotion, or endorsement. Someone on a full scholarship as a drama major could still do commercials or be a model, but an athlete would not only lose their scholarship but also their eligibility to compete on the university’s sports teams. Would that get a music scholar kicked out of the orchestra? No. It doesn’t apply to any extracurricular activity except sports.

All this is supposed to ensure that the athletes are students first. That hasn’t happened, though. They’re not students first. They’re athletes first. They miss classes for athletics. They miss office hours for athletics. They miss out on opportunities other students have to get help outside of the classroom because of athletics. It is a total farce, and it is a farce that is very lucrative for the NCAA.

 

[IdaCatholic]

Involving millions of dollars in endorsements will not make things better for the athletes, the colleges or students. It also wont make things better for the NCAA or smaller schools in poorer areas. What it will do is put the hands of greedy companies into the pockets and influence of the athletes that would eventually make the money anyway. They just do so earlier and less under the table as they do now. Make no mistake, California doesnt care about Dave on the lacrosse team, what they care about is luring top talent to major schools and keeping them there for 4 years.

 

[johnnykins]

There is every reason. Everyone profits big time from college sports EXCEPT the athlete. The coaches, schools, etc., all get rich. The NCAA is merely a corrupt organization keeping the money in the family. Way past time the athletes got paid what their worth. It’s good and needs to be expanded.

 

[phil19034]

I think they should be able to do paid coaching. But I don’t think they should be allowed to anything that typically requires a player agent.

Second - I NEVER said it was “discriminatory.” I don’t. I think it’s a bad idea because then student-athletes will be chasing sponsorships and paid public appearances instead of studying. Agents are not going to care about their grades or their degree.

So for me… I think it’s about protecting them from Player Agents - and doing whatever is possible to make sure these kids graduate college - ESP the ones from lower income families.

For the ones who never make the pros, a few thousand dollars in sponsorship deals at the local bar or sports store is NOT going to help them in the long run. But a degree will.

God bless.

 

[phil19034]

There is every reason. Everyone profits big time from college sports EXCEPT the athlete. The coaches, schools, etc., all get rich. The NCAA is merely a corrupt organization keeping the money in the family. Way past time the athletes got paid what their worth. It’s good and needs to be expanded.

I agree that coaches (eps at top schools) are WAY overpaid.

But I disagree with paying players. I think the money should be spread out to fund more sports scholarships, more sports programs, etc.

Instead of paying coaches millions… there has to be a way to spread the profits more throughout the community.

Honestly – I even thing the colleges should not be allowed to make money off of sports… the revenue that college sports makes should only be applied to the sports program and the pay of the head coaches should be drastically reduced.

I think there are plenty of different rules the NCAA can come up with to fix the corruption - other than paying athletes, which will only INCREASE the amount of corruption.

 

[Zzyzx_Road]

Second - I NEVER said it was “discriminatory.” I don’t. I think it’s a bad idea because then student-athletes will be chasing sponsorships and paid public appearances instead of studying. Agents are not going to care about their grades or their degree.

Like I didn’t chase income instead of studying at times? Pray tell, what the heck was I supposed to do? Pray for cash growing on trees?

Second - I NEVER said it was “discriminatory.” I don’t. I think it’s a bad idea because then student-athletes will be chasing sponsorships and paid public appearances instead of studying. Agents are not going to care about their grades or their degree.

Like regular students don’t chase things that pay an income? Oh please.

You didn’t say “discriminatory”, but that’s all I can give you here. It is discriminatory to say academic scholars have no limits on what they can do for income, but college athletes do. Athletes already have to give precedence to their athletics, not their grades, why not let them get something for it.

For the ones who never make the pros, a few thousand dollars in sponsorship deals at the local bar or sports store is NOT going to help them in the long run. But a degree will.

This is truly rich. A few thousand dollars may not have helped me in the long run, but they sure helped to pay my bills and enable my social life at the time. You’re essentially saying the athlete can’t chase that. Why are you trying to keep those athletes who will never make it in the pros from getting whatever athlete-related income they can? What kind of morality is that when you want to prevent all athletes from all potential income streams? Or tell them they can have this, but not that.

Agents, I can understand. There could be some sort of regulation for them. The rest? There is no leg to stand on.

 

[PetraG]

Involving millions of dollars in endorsements will not make things better for the athletes, the colleges or students. It also wont make things better for the NCAA or smaller schools in poorer areas. What it will do is put the hands of greedy companies into the pockets and influence of the athletes that would eventually make the money anyway. They just do so earlier and less under the table as they do now. Make no mistake, California doesnt care about Dave on the lacrosse team, what they care about is luring top talent to major schools and keeping them there for 4 years.

What’s your evidence that they would “make the money anyway” and what about all the athletes who cannot make money doing anything having to do with athletics while they’re in college? What is this “the money”? Do you mean the money that the NCAA and the university is raking in? No, they’re never seeing any of that.

If the NCAA doesn’t want student athletes to do what every other merit-scholar student in every other discipline and talent group is allowed to do, the NCAA could just give up the pretense that student-athletes in the money-raking sports are all amateurs who don’t deserve anything more than tuition to an education they barely have time to get even though they put in 60 hour weeks and pay them.

 

[phil19034]

Agents, I can understand. There could be some sort of regulation for them. The rest? There is no leg to stand on.

I’m not going to argue with you…

If you can figure out how to let Student Athletes get sponsorship deals without having to hire an agent; I could be converted on this.

However, as I see it, it is a bad idea for college students (who are supposed to be there for primarily an education) to have to receive sponsorships, etc.

• Getting sponsorships without an agent isn’t a good idea.
• And having an agent, who will be primarily focused on sponsorships, while in college isn’t a good idea either.

From my point of view, the whole situation is a lose/lose situation.

 

[Zzyzx_Road]

I’m not going to argue with you…

If you can figure out how to let Student Athletes get sponsorship deals without having to hire an agent; I could be converted on this.

However, as I see it, it is a bad idea for college students (who are supposed to be there for primarily an education) to have to receive sponsorships, etc.

• Getting sponsorships without an agent isn’t a good idea.
• And having an agent, who will be primarily focused on sponsorships, while in college isn’t a good idea either.

From my point of view, the whole situation is a lose/lose situation.

Think of agents as people who help one get an income stream. Then they are no different in function from the headhunters and recruiters I used to obtain some of my college era jobs. Are headhunters and recruiters regulated? Sure they are, there are things they can do and things they are not permitted to do within the context of law. Can regulate agents too. But don’t ban them.

All you can see are the truckloads of money in the big programs and you’re afraid of corruption. Hate to break it to you, but the big programs are already corrupt and this isn’t getting fixed anytime soon. That much money sloshing around on the collective backs of the athletes and you want to restrict them from getting what they can out of it beyond the usual scholarships and meals? Especially since most of them won’t compete in the pros?

The part you refuse to see is that most athletes on scholarship will never have access to that kind of big money. In which case, why restrict them at all?

Only the well-to-do can afford true amateur status. The rest of us? We’re not as lucky as you.

 

[PetraG]

Only the well-to-do can afford true amateur status. The rest of us? We’re not as lucky as you.

The Olympics are not even amateur any more. The ideal of the amateur athlete is well worth questioning, as well, since the highest levels of athletic attainment essentially require a sponsor, whether that is a corporation or a working spouse or wealthy parents.

However, as I see it, it is a bad idea for college students (who are supposed to be there for primarily an education) to have to receive sponsorships, etc.

The training schedules of athletes on full scholarship richly demonstrate that they are not at their universities primarily in order to receive an education. That ship steamed away from the dock a long time ago, as any college professor can tell you.

This is not just a question in athletics. Universities have had to be careful about defining what intellectual property generated by students and graduate students belongs to the university and what belongs to the student. It shouldn’t be a surprise that the athletes want to be on a similar footing.

Example: Guide to Intellectual Property as a Student at the University of California | UCOP

UC probably owns it	I probably own it
I invented a camera using special equipment in my professor’s lab	I invented new earbuds in my garage
I wrote a report for my professor’s federally-funded science project	I wrote a journal article for a class assignment
I created software under a University sponsored project	I created a new smartphone app at home
I invented a new cancer treatment in a UC lab using stem cells from a commercial source	I created a new bicycle gear in my dorm room

The student athletes are asking to be able to use their athletic talents and their own personal images and likenesses to make money in cases when doing so is not infringing on the copyrights of their university. That is not an unfair expectation.

If you can figure out how to let Student Athletes get sponsorship deals without having to hire an agent; I could be converted on this.

If drama students can have agents and movie deals, why should athletes be barred from having agents?
If you want to say that universities should be able to have contractual agreements with student athletes that allow the universities to recover tuition and fees or other considerations from students who take advantage of the development investment and national exposure of a university athletic program in order to launch their professional athletic careers, that is fair.

 

[IdaCatholic]

You are using two separate arguments with this law. If your premise is that the universities make all this money and the athletes don’t see any of it and that isn’t fair. I disagree with you. I played college football. But I payed to play. I received no scholarship. I also went to a private Catholic college in a small town. There is no real opportunity to get endorsements. For living necessities, I relied on the college, my family, and (gasp) Working part time. At a grocery store, and at the local ski resort, I used my talents and athletic ability to make money. I didn’t use the college team as a way to make money. I have also been a party to several NFL and professional Football league sports contracts. I was not treated unfairly, I was not taken advantage of, I was not robbed of any money. Even though the college made money on football.

As far as the NCAA and specifically universities making money. Well, that is not true for many schools. Recently the University of Idaho had to move to the FCS because of financial reasons. New Mexico State had to hold a bake sale to get money for equipment, the University of Hawaii is considering dropping sports altogether etc. And even if you focus in on the power 5 schools, Purdue, and Ohio State are supposed to have equal opportunity for their athletes. They don’t. The gap between schools that have money and the “little sisters of the poor” is growing exponentially. A football player for Alabama even if a walk on has infinitely better living conditions and food opportunities, and medical care, and chance to make money later on athletic ability than does a walk on at San Diego State.
What this law does is actually help the colleges and the NCAA that you think is making money on the backs of these athletes and further shove the financial responsibility off on someone else. Thereby freeing up even MORE money for already rich schools with already rich athletes.

cont…

 

[IdaCatholic]

My question to you is who do you think is going to get the money? A tennis player at Indiana state? Or a Football player at Oregon? You seem to think that this is going to allow student athletes to get paid, but all it does is allow companies with money and individuals with money to give the money to athletes to come to schools with money and make at least some money before they go on to make even more professional money. The average football player plays his last down in his last game of eligibility. That player is not going to be making money under this law, the players that already will make money with those companies will be the ones making money. They are’nt being paid to play, they aren’t even being paid to represent the school. They are being paid as a “bribe” And they don’t have to do ANYTHING under the law. They can just show up at an event (or not) They can just take one picture for crazy eddies used car sales and then cash a check. And the ones doing this are the ones who are popular or good playing for schools that recruited them. It harms so many other athletes in so many other schools by furthering the corruption that is already so prevalent.

A four star recruit is being eyed by Oregon and Washington State. Wysup Chrysler Jeep Dodge of pullman offers the recruit a billboard and 5000 dollars. Phil Knight and Nike offer the athlete a shoe contract and 2 million. Eventually the gap between the athletes and the opportunities will be even worse than it already is. And WSU may need to kill athletics altogether. Depriving thousands of future student athletes any sort of opportunity at all.

 

[johnnykins]

Paying people what they are worth for the service they perform is fundamental in the USA. The perversion and corruption comes from messing the system: refusing to pay students simply because they are students leads to back door payments - as we see all over the place; rigged boards of directors paying crony level salaries to executives is endemic.

All you are suggesting is continuing the unjust cheating of sports figures who happen to be students - and then try to justify it by suggesting they should bear the cost of supporting schools and other athletes…

The kids should be able to get paid what they are worth - and watch it skyrocket in football and basketball - so that the best kids get paid like the stars they are.

 

[johnnykins]

Why should the kid who is a star in football or basketball be forced to support all the other kids who play sports - not to mention the universities? UnAmerican is not downright immoral if you ask me.

In no other industries do you see anyone even suggest such a thing.

 

[TARRAT]

Who wins the NCAA or the state of California? Aren’t these players supposed to be ametuers?

 

[phil19034]

Paying people what they are worth for the service they perform is fundamental in the USA. The perversion and corruption comes from messing the system: refusing to pay students simply because they are students leads to back door payments - as we see all over the place; rigged boards of directors paying crony level salaries to executives is endemic.

All you are suggesting is continuing the unjust cheating of sports figures who happen to be students - and then try to justify it by suggesting they should bear the cost of supporting schools and other athletes…

The kids should be able to get paid what they are worth - and watch it skyrocket in football and basketball - so that the best kids get paid like the stars they are.

Should high school football students get paid too? What about at the high schools in TX with large football stadiums & hugh programs that draw tens of thousands each game?

https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/dfwvarsity/prep-football/article170468092.html

 

[MiserereMeiDei]

Are you thinking it might be simony? If true, we’re all in trouble. Everything we have comes from God.

 

[MiserereMeiDei]

It surely will and the future of this is that the NCAA will have to navigate this one carefully.

Nah. There’s nothing prohibiting the NCAA from saying “sure it’s legal, but we don’t allow that. You’ll have to play in another league if you want to do that.”

 

[johnnykins]

Why not? If child actors get paid, why not students? Why should schools or cities get to profit but not the star?

If it’s a business, it’s a business…and it looks like some high schools may indeed be a business.