NCAA to let student-athletes cash in

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The University of Southern California Trojans take the field before a game at the University of Colorado on Friday. Associated Press/Photo by David Zalubowski

After fighting for years to keep college athletes from profiting from their fame, the NCAA is changing the rules of the game. The Board of Governors of the national governing body for college sports said on Tuesday it would allow student-athletes to earn money from the use of their names, images, and likenesses, opening the door to lucrative sponsorship deals for the biggest stars of college sports.

Why the change? California, home to college sports powerhouses such as UCLA and the University of Southern California, passed legislation last month supporting name, image, and likeness deals for student-athletes. The law said that as of 2023, the state would penalize schools for standing in the way of endorsement deals for students. The NCAA is changing its policies in anticipation of other states passing similar laws.

Dig deeper: Read Kyle Ziemnick’s report in Schooled about the reasons California took up student-athletes’ cause.

Lynde Langdon

Lynde is WORLD’s executive editor for news. She is a graduate of World Journalism Institute, the Missouri School of Journalism, and the University of Missouri–St. Louis. Lynde resides with her family in Wichita, Kan.

@lmlangdon