We continue to get closer and closer to a world where college athletes can make money without ramifications from the NCAA. California really started the snowball rolling downhill when it signed the Fair Pay to Play Act. Since then, the NCAA has kinda, sorta embraced the fact that it’s all happening and is working to get in front of it.
We’ve also heard about former Ohio State wide receiver turned congressman Anthony Gonzalez and his plan to introduce NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) legislation at the federal level.
But we’ve also gotten rumors of other states coming online with the same thing until the U.S. government gets something done to equal the playing field.
And so it is with Florida.
That’s because, on Friday, Governor Ron DeSantis confirmed the signing of a bill that would allow college athletes to get paid for their name, image, and likeness while speaking at the University of Miami.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says state bill to pay college student-athletes for name, image and likeness will go into effect in July 2021.
“I think it really is Florida leading the way on this,” DeSantis said.
— David Furones (@DavidFurones_) June 12, 2020
There are still details to be written and hammered out, but that is expected to be completed by October 31, with a vote taking place no later than January 31, 2021. If passed, the new bill would go into effect on July 1, 2021 and in place for the 2021-2022 athletic calendar.
If it all happens as expected, it’ll be the first legislation of its kind implemented at the state level. It’s thought that the move will help spur the NCAA on to make sure the typically slow-moving governing body of college athletics gets something in place sooner rather than later.
We’ll keep an eye on this as all the milestones are passed and the hoops jumped through. However, the train is leaving the station, and the world is going to change for some college athletes to benefit from what they can do on the playing field before they turn professional.