The Fair Pay To Play Act that California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law on Sept 30. is being hailed as a game-changer for collegiate athletics.
The Act creates the legal right for college athletes in California to be paid for use of their identities and goes into effect in 2023. That means student athletes can sign endorsement deals with shoe companies such as Nike and adidas, be paid for their autographs and receive money from the sale of paraphernalia bearing their image.
“It does change the game significantly because if student athletes are now going to be able to profit from their likeness, be able to obtain an agent, be able to obtain a contract to make money, the institution is not going to be the first choice those marketing companies, those branding companies go to to make those deals,’’ says Dr. Tomika Ferguson, an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership in the School of Education at Virginia Commonwealth University and founder of Black Athlete Sister Circle (BASC).
Dr. Jerlando F.L. Jackson, Distinguished Professor of Higher Education, Department Chair and Director & Chief Research Scientist in the University of Wisconsin’s Equity & Inclusion Laboratory says that he is watching closely to see the impact of the legislation.
“If other states follow, it does address one of the chief issues in the pay to play dynamic,’’ Jackson says. “That dynamic is student athlete will own their likeness, their name and the ability to put that in the market for themselves. That is probably our best pathway forward to recognizing their contributions.’’
If in 2023, no other state has passed similar legislation, Jackson says “in some ways it’s trading one set of problems for another. But within the context of pay to play, the option of allowing the market to be controlled by the players and what their capacity to bring resources, is of more doable options. The thought that athletic departments would be able to generate enough resources to recognize and pay student athletes across all sports would certainly be more challenging and significantly impact the landscape of who would be able to maintain and compete.’’
Ferguson, a former track and field athlete at the University of Virginia who walked on but eventually earned a scholarship, says the Act was passed as the result of much tension, confusion and unanswered questions from those who have been fighting for fairness for student athletes in light of the billions of dollars generated by their labor, particularly in revenue generating sports such as football and men’s and women’s basketball.
