Arizona Athletics: California Fair Pay to Play Act may affect the Pac-12

California Governor Gavin Newsom just put into motion a significant, possible change to the way NCAA athletes could profit for playing in college.

The forever-changing landscape between professional and amateur or the NCAA/ college and high school sports can be confusing. Enter California Governor Gavin Newsom and the bill he just signed in front of LeBron James and Diana Taurasi on his Uninterrupted show, The Shop.

James started by stating, “I’m so incredibly proud to share this moment with all of you.” He felt that moments like that were the reason why he started his platform, as James has been all about players’ rights, and contrary to many, this writer agrees with him and the Governor of California.

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If California schools are affected, then the Pac-12 will be affected as four major member schools are in California: USC, UCLA, Stanford, and Cal.

That is how Governor Newsome decided to blaze the trail to support college athletes and announce the signing of the Fair Play to Pay Act which is a bill that will allow college athletes (excluding Junior College student-athletes) to profit off their name, image, and likeness. The law will take effect on Jan. 1, 2023.

The NCAA could stonewall the bill by filing lawsuits that aim to delay the law, or push it to higher courts to overrule it, so the outcome is still undetermined.

With the one-and-done basketball rule possibly going away in the next few years, more athletes will want to make money coming out of high school. This would be an incentive for athletes to attend college instead of the G-League, or coming out of school and not getting drafted to play overseas.

God knows they need incentive now that New Balance decided to give one High School athlete $1 million just to be an intern.

Maybe the NCAA can be persuaded by LeBron and other sentiments that they need to provide for their family, and that’s why James says he skipped college… to provide for his mother.

It didn’t take long for the NCAA to issue a statement on the confusion and if it would be realistic:

"“As a membership organization, the NCAA agrees changes are needed to continue to support student-athletes, but improvement needs to happen on a national level through the NCAA’s rules-making process. Unfortunately, this new law already is creating confusion for current and future student-athletes, coaches, administrators and campuses, and not just in California.We will consider next steps in California while our members move forward with ongoing efforts to make adjustments to NCAA name, image and likeness rules that are both realistic in modern society and tied to higher education.”"

The NCAA feels “providing a fair and level playing field for 1,100 campuses and nearly half a million student-athletes nationwide” is an unattainable goal. It won’t be fair to all athletes, just the athletes that can attract endorsements based on their notoriety and skills. Only the top athletes with huge followings will get the majority of the opportunities to make money from endorsements, but they should. Think video games, sports drinks, shoes, trendy clotheslines, and athletic wear just to start. The California bill will also allow college athletes to hire agents.

The bill mimics the Olympic model, which isn’t a bad thing. Governor Newsome shot back:

"“[The NCAA is] a little panicked because they recognize they’re vulnerable. People are hitting this, not just in California, but all across the country because the gig’s up. Billions and billions of dollars—$14-plus billion—goes to these universities, goes to these colleges. Billion-plus revenue to the NCAA themselves. And the actual product, the folks that are putting their lives on the line, putting everything on the line, are getting nothing.”"

The Pac-12 put a damper on the signing of the bill as well. Their statement said the Pac-12 is “Disappointed in the passage of SB 206 and believes it will have very significant negative consequences for our student-athletes and broader universities in California.” Here’s more:

"Professionalization of college sports and many unintended consequences related to this professionalism, imposes a state law that conflicts with national rules, will blur the lines for how California universities recruit student-athletes and compete nationally, and will likely reduce resources and opportunities for student-athletes in Olympic sports and have a negative disparate impact on female student-athletes."

I spoke at length to a D1 WCC Athletic Director on Tuesday at the Annual Wooden Coaches Award Southern California Coaches luncheon. He preferred to remain anonymous.

The gist of our conversation with raised eyebrows, was about the possibility that the California law goes into effect and the NCAA still possibly punishing California schools as they are threatening to do. Nonetheless, it was a great conversation.

I suggested that maybe if California would have its own league, it could potentially be lucrative. All the possibilities are on the table, and of course, the WCC is made up of that as well.

Here is the Governor’s letter on the signing of the Bill, as he makes some great points. Following the Bill’s passage, two states including New York and South Carolina are already in line to follow suit with California.

It’s a step in the right direction. Video game companies, shoe companies, and the billion-dollar-plus NCAA industry should start sharing more of their profits with the very student-athletes that bring in the cash. And don’t give me this “tuition and stipend is payment” argument, doesn’t fly with me. Hopefully, the state of Arizona follows suit.