James September-October 2024 web - Flipbook - Page 51
“We’re just kind of pumping the brakes right now
and making sure we do the right thing,” said Hines.
“The high school space is different. We are scholastic
education-based activities, and we want to keep it
that way. We don’t want to bring money into that. It’s
not pay for play. Well just leave it at that.”
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?
If you’ve just managed to wrap your head around
the state of NIL in Georgia, hold onto your hat because more changes are coming that may rework it
entirely.
In May the NCAA and the nation’s five biggest
athletic conferences— including the ACC and SEC
where Georgia Tech and UGA play— agreed to a
massive $2.8 billion antitrust settlement that sets
the stage for a revenue-sharing model that could see
schools pay student athletes directly.
The deal would allow schools to funnel 22 percent
of revenue to athletes, coming out to an average of
about $21 million per year.
Yet that plan has its own set of issues. Would the
new compensation model be subject to the Title IX
gender equity law which demands an equal number
of male and female athletic scholarships? Will schools
bring their NIL collectives in house and take full control of the financial system? What will the impact be
on non-revenue sports?
Several other antitrust lawsuits are still hung
up in the courts. One in Pennsylvania is challenging
whether athletes whose efforts make money for their
schools should be labeled as employees under federal wage-and-hour laws. Another is questioning the
NCAA’s ability to limit transfers between schools and
denying eligibility to athletes.
NIL laws have thus far been legislated mainly at
the state level, but seven pieces of legislation have
been introduced in Congress seeking to regulate and
rein in the future of college athletics. The NCAA, led
by Charlie Baker, a former Republican governor of
Massachusetts, is desperate for guardrails that would
restore some of the organization’s authority. But none
of those bills have made much progress, and the
endless series of committee meeting hearings on NIL
figures to continue well past November’s election.
In Georgia, where college football is king, programs are scrambling to keep pace in this new world
of NILs, collectives, revenue sharing and quid pro
quo. As for the fans? Buckle up, the ride is just getting started.
Patrick Hickey is the James office/circulation manager and a staff writer.
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