Athlete Compensation

This morning I woke up to news that California had passed an Athlete compensation bill. The bill would allow college athletes in California to be paid for the use of their name, image and likeness whether they are football players signing marketing deals or hockey players offer skating lessons. The Fair Pay to Play act proposed by Nancy Skimmer, a Berkeley area state senator, cleared the assembly by a vote of 72 to 0. The bill will go to Governor Newsom and he will have 30 days to sign it.

The measure, S.B. 206, would go into effect Jan. 1, 2023 and it has received the expected opposition of the NCAA and some California Universities. This bill would change the way the NCAA and college sports operate. It's an interesting debate that has certainly been raging for quite a while. Now though, it seems to have found some strong backers with Lebron James and presidential candidate Bernie Sanders giving their approval

I was once a student athlete in college as a member of the Men's Varsity Crew Team here at Tufts. Although, no companies were lining up to sign endorsement deals with us (still waiting to hear back from Lulu). I can understand why athletes might demand this kind of compensation. College athletes are a spectacular bunch. This group from a very young age excelled at their sport putting time, money and a load of effort into being the best. They were state champions at young ages. They spent summers doing camps, training with peers and renowned coaches. College for them is the next step in their journey into stardom and many of these kids already have been in the spotlight since they were little kids. These athletes are adored by millions of Americans on TV. They become common names in our households. If you look online you can see thousands of videos dedicated to highlights in games of young athletes. I encourage you to watch these whether it is baseball, soccer, football or basketball because they are so exciting. Drake, the famous rapper was wearing the football jersey of Zion Williamson when he was a sophomore in high school. When these kids turn 18, they deserve to be allowed to cash out on their incredible skills.

This bill also wouldn't include monetary packages from universities but rather from companies. This means students have no reason to choose a better endowed school over another solely based off monetary benefit. As long as they excel, they can enjoy these benefits at any school in the country. At the end of the day, this bill shouldn't really change how colleges must look at their programs. It may even allow some colleges to reduce their financial aid packages.

Obviously, there needs to be regulation making sure that athletes are given fair deals with proper representation and also making sure that certain companies not be allowed to make deals with athletes. For many of these students, this may be only the beginning of their long and illustrious career and it's better that they learn now how to handle money.

Let them have money and use it for all their needs. They earned it and they absolutely deserve. If you are so worried about all the downside of giving these young athletes money. Why not educate each player that receives compensation with a special class? The class could dive into strategic financial planning. Talk about Roth IRA's and 401K's and building diverse portfolios. Talk about compounding interest rates. You have to educate them rather than leaving them in the dark. This could be a great way to get them adjusted to the high stakes world of professional sports.

I think this a great step. Do I think more regulations need to be figured out? Yes, absolutely. And those will come. His bill will not go into effect till 2023. In the meantime though, lets just think about how we can reward those who deserve an d maybe teach them something along the way. So to all those superstars and future superstars, you guys rock, but please be careful.

P.S My excitement for college football right now (I'm a big Michigan fan. GO BLUE) makes me even more convinced that a bill like this is good for athletes