It was set up to be a landmark ruling by the NCAA, allowing student-athletes to profit off their images and likeness. Instead, it looks as if that landmark legislation may be about to get delayed.
Originally the NCAA’s Board of Governers mandated that new image, likeness, and name rules be put in place “no later than January of 2021” but according to a USA TODAY report, three primary reasons appear to be shifting this ruling to later in the year.
- The Supreme Court’s decision to hear the NCAA’s appeal of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the NCAA cannot limit benefits related to education that college athletes can receive.
- The uncertainty surrounding what kind of bill Congress might vote on to regulate name, image, and likeness issues due to the runoff elections in Georgia that flips control of Congress to the Democrats.
- Simply the lack of detail given to NCAA membership about how a third-party clearinghouse would function to vet name, image, and likeness deals signed by athletes to ensure they are not simply recruiting inducements.
You can tell something is in a rough spot when the part involving the courts feels like the easy part. The third point sticks out because how do you regulate this?
Instead of a school or athletic program recruiting an athlete, it then turns into a car dealership promising an endorsement, or something of the like.
I’m all for players getting played for multiple reasons, none bigger than how much money they bring in for their respective programs and universities. However, simply saying to make it legal without setting up proper barriers is essentially going to make the highest level of college sports function like the old SMU Pony Express, just legally.