We’ve written here at SGO over the past few months about the bill that has been proposed in California that would allow student-athletes to be compensated for their name and likeness. Now, a second state has gotten involved in the issue: New York.

New York and College Athletes

New York State Senator Kevin Parker (D) has proposed a bill that is very similar to the one in California, which is not surprising, as Parker has said that this bill is modeled after California’s Fair Pay to Play act. Under this bill, student-athletes would be able to receive monetary compensation for their name and likeness. There is, however, one major difference between this one, and the California bill that is currently sitting on the desk of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Parker told ESPN that he added an amendment to this bill that would require college athletic departments to give a 15% share of annual revenue to student-athletes. Parker also told ESPN that this share would be distributed equally to all student-athletes competing for the school.

Parker told ESPN, “It’s about equity, these young people are adding their skill, talent and labor to these universities. … You don’t need the shortcuts and the end-arounds because now we’re providing some real support for these student-athletes.”

What does this mean?

Even though the New York State Senate cannot tackle this bill until January at the earliest, due to the fact that their legislative session goes from January to June, this bill could be a major thorn in the side for the NCAA for several reasons. One, there may be more bills like this proposed in other states, and follow the models of California and New York. That could lead to more pressure on the NCAA to allow players to receive compensation.

Second, they’ll have to wrestle how they will handle the colleges in New York should this bill be passed. If the NCAA is not phased by these bills, will they ban schools such as Stony Brook, St. John’s, Syracuse and Buffalo from postseason play just because they are following the rules of the state? That will be something to watch. The NCAA has wanted to wait on a formal decision until their working group on the issue finished its report, but it definitely needs to start thinking about the aftermath should these bills progress and pass.

Lastly, it does mean that we could be one step closer to an NCAA Football or an NCAA Basketball game. The game, of course, will need a willing publisher and developer in order for it to become a reality. However, if the NCAA or these states allow student-athletes to seek compensation for their name and likeness, it means one less barrier will be removed. And it looks like that we may be getting closer to that.

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