James September-October 2024 web - Flipbook - Page 49
In 2019, California became the first state to pass a
law allowing college athletes to receive compensation
for their names, images or likenesses (NIL). The “Fair
Pay to Play Act” incited harsh criticism from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and sparked
intense debate nationwide, but the dam was broken.
Florida followed suit the next year, and then dozens of states drafted their own versions of NIL legalization legislation. In Georgia, that conversation took on a
certain red and black hue as a Bulldog-friendly legislature worked to ensure the state’s athletic programs
weren’t left behind.
During the 2021 legislative session Gov. Brian Kemp
threw his support behind House Bill 617, which allowed
schools to put money received by athletes— whether
through endorsements, sponsorships, personal appearances or other endeavors— into an escrow account that
could only be accessed a year after leaving school. The
bill passed with bipartisan support. At a University of
Georgia Sanford Stadium bill signing ceremony, Kemp
declared the change was something that “should have
been done a long time ago.” Georgia’s 83rd governor
wasn’t shy about where his loyalties lay, either. “As an
alumnus myself, I’m a little biased, but I believe that
this is going to give Coach (Kirby) Smart every bit of
help he needs to bring home the national championship” he said at the time. The next several years on the
gridiron would prove that idea wise.
But Georgia’s new law didn’t hold up for long.
As the NCAA scrambled to try reining in 30 individual state laws, it implemented an “interim” NIL policy that proved to be less restrictive than those signed
in many states. Alabama quickly repealed its version
of an NIL bill, and Georgia utilized a provision that
rendered its rules null, allowing athletes in the state to
follow the NCAA’s looser policy.
So where does that put Georgia now, in 2024? The
NCAA’s “interim” policy states that student athletes
are fully allowed to profit from their names, images
and likenesses, but schools are not allowed to pay
them directly. All NIL deals must be quid pro quo,
meaning athletes must perform work as part of their
agreement to receive payment. And that interim tag
is doing some heavy lifting. So NIL rules in Georgia
and nationwide are very much in flux and more major
changes are on the horizon.
S E PT E M B E R/O C TO BER 2024
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