Nancy Skinner's new bill would make the NIL law effective as soon as Aug. 1, 2021ESPN IMAGES
The California state legislator who wrote what became the first state law designed to allow college athletes to make money from their name, image and likeness introduced a bill that "would expand the law’s impact and could hasten potential conflicts between state statutes and NCAA rules," according to Steve Berkowitz of USA TODAY. The law "already includes provisions that are less restrictive" than proposed NIL rules changes that the NCAA unveiled last month. But California state Sen. Nancy Skinner’s new bill "could create additional differences," and it "would make the law effective as soon as Aug. 1, 2021 -- 17 months earlier than the current date." The current version of California’s law came at a time when the NCAA "did not yet have fully formed proposals for changes to its NIL rules." Now that NCAA schools have a full set of NIL rules changes to consider, it "remains to be seen whether the association and athletics directors around the country would take these types of positions -- especially since other states have joined California in passing laws." But the NCAA’s proposed rules changes "still leave differences with California’s law." Skinner’s bill also "would add a provision to the law that says schools cannot deny athletes any rights afforded to all other students, except in relation to recruitment" (USA TODAY, 12/8).
MONEY MATTERS: In L.A., J. Brady McCollough notes California’s law presents "nearly a free market scenario for athletes to be paid for appearances in ads, autograph signings and social media influencing," among "other avenues to capitalize on their fame while on campus." California, for instance, has "no cap on what a school booster could pay an athlete for participating in an ad." NCAA leaders have "spent much of the last year lobbying on Capitol Hill for a federal solution that would supersede the various state laws" (L.A. TIMES, 12/8).
