Fair Pay to Play Act
{{short description|Bill to allow college athletes to profit while in school}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox U.S. State legislation
| State = California
| Full_name= Fair Pay to Play Act
| Status= current
| Introduced= February 4, 2019
| Assembly_Voted= September 9, 2019{{cite web |title=SB-206 Collegiate athletics: student athlete compensation and representation. |url=https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB206 |website=California Legislature Information |accessdate=13 September 2019}}
| Signed= September 30, 2019
| Sponsors= Sens. Nancy Skinner, Scott Wilk, Steven Bradford
| Governor= Gavin Newsom
| Code= Education Code
| Section=
| Resolution= SB 206
| Associated_bills=
| URL={{url|1=https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200SB206|2=leginfo.legislature.ca.gov}}
}}
The Fair Pay to Play Act, originally known as California Senate Bill 206,{{cite news |last1=Anantharaman |first1=Maitreyi |title=California Lawmakers Pass Bill Allowing College Athletes To Profit From Endorsements |url=https://deadspin.com/california-lawmakers-passes-bill-allowing-college-athle-1838001341 |accessdate=13 September 2019 |publisher=Deadspin |date=10 September 2019}} is a California statute that will allow collegiate athletes to acquire endorsements and sponsorships while still maintaining athletic eligibility.{{cite news |last1=Scott |first1=Jason |title=California Lawmaker Introduces 'Fair Pay to Play Act' |url=https://www.athleticbusiness.com/college/california-lawmaker-introduces-fair-pay-to-play-act.html#targetText=California%20Lawmaker%20Introduces%20'Fair%20Pay%20to%20Play%20Act'&targetText=A%20California%20state%20senator%20is,their%20image%2C%20name%20and%20likeness. |accessdate=13 September 2019 |publisher=Athletic Business |date=February 2019}} The bill would affect college athletes in California's public universities and colleges.
History
The bill was introduced by Senator Nancy Skinner{{cite news |last1=Anderson |first1=Bryan |title=College athletes could soon get paid in California, but not from the NCAA |url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article225561675.html |accessdate=16 September 2019 |publisher=The Sacramento Bee |date=6 February 2019}} and co-authored by Scott Wilk and Steven Bradford.{{cite news |title=California Legislature OK's SB 206, 'Fair Pay to Play Act' |url=https://scvnews.com/2019/09/13/california-legislature-oks-sb-206-fair-pay-to-play-act/ |accessdate=16 September 2019 |publisher=SCVTVNews |date=13 September 2019}} The bill passed the California State Senate 31 to 5, with Shannon Grove voting against the bill, on May 22, 2019,{{cite news |last1=McWilliams |first1=James |title=A CALIFORNIA BILL WOULD LET COLLEGE ATHLETES SIGN ENDORSEMENT DEALS, IN SPITE OF THE NCAA |url=https://psmag.com/education/a-california-bill-would-let-college-athletes-sign-endorsement-deals-in-spite-of-the-ncaa |accessdate=16 September 2019 |publisher=Pacific Standard |date=14 June 2019}} with the California Assembly unanimously passing it on September 11, 2019.{{cite news |last1=Ackerman |first1=Nathan |last2=Sturges |first2=Amanda |title=California passes Fair Pay to Play bill |url=https://dailytrojan.com/2019/09/11/california-passes-fair-pay-to-play-bill/ |accessdate=16 September 2019 |publisher=Daily Trojan |date=11 September 2019}} The bill was bolstered by testimony from former Stanford women's volleyball star and 2015 national freshman of the year Hayley Hodson, and Oklahoma State University football star Russell Okung.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/06/30/first-name-image-likeness-law-california-nancy-skinner/ |title=This state senator once caused McDonald's to change. No wonder she took on the NCAA. |date=2021-06-30 |author1=Chuck Culpepper |newspaper=The Washington Post |place=Washington, D.C. |issn=0190-8286 |oclc=1330888409}}{{cite web | url=https://lasentinel.net/senators-bradford-and-skinner-respond-to-ncaas-announcement-on-name-image-and-likeness.html | title=Senators Bradford and Skinner Respond to NCAA's Announcement on Name, Image, and Likeness | date=April 30, 2020 }}{{cite news | url=https://calmatters.org/education/2019/07/college-athletes-profit-ncaa-california-skinner-fair-pay/ | title=Should college athletes profit from their prowess? NCAA says no, but California may say yes | newspaper=Calmatters | date=July 3, 2019 | last1=Mello | first1=Felicia }}{{cite web | url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2019/10/09/college-athletes-with-name-image-likeness-control-could-make-millions/3909807002/ | title=If college athletes could profit off their marketability, how much would they be worth? In some cases, millions | website=USA Today }}
The impetus for the bill came when Skinner met antitrust economist Andy Schwarz.{{Cite web |last= |last2= |last3= |last4= |date=2021-07-01 |title=How California paved the way for college athletes to cash in big |url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2021-07-01/how-southern-california-helped-launch-ncaa-nil-revolution |access-date=2023-04-27 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}{{cite news |title=The California governor signed a law to let NCAA athletes get paid. It's unclear what's next. |date=September 10, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227145049/https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/california-lawmakers-voted-to-let-ncaa-athletes-get-paid-its-unclear-whats-next/2019/09/10/80d0a324-d3e6-11e9-9343-40db57cf6abd_story.html |archive-date=February 27, 2023 |url-status=live |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/california-lawmakers-voted-to-let-ncaa-athletes-get-paid-its-unclear-whats-next/2019/09/10/80d0a324-d3e6-11e9-9343-40db57cf6abd_story.html}} Schwarz had been involved in the O'Bannon litigation and was looking for a new way to advance athletes rights after that case had resulted in only modest gains.{{Cite web |date=2014-12-12 |title=Sports economist Andy Schwarz '89 answers key O'Bannon v. NCAA questions |url=https://stanforddaily.com/2014/12/12/sports-economist-andy-schwarz-89-answers-key-obannon-v-ncaa-questions/ |access-date=2023-05-03 |language=en-US}}
The Supreme Court's recent decision in NCAA v. Alston sheds light on modern federal attitudes towards student athlete compensation.[2] In this case, the Court struck down any potential limitations on education-related benefits that student athletes may receive.[2] Most notably, the Court—and especially Justice Brett Kavanaugh—rejected the NCAA's "amateurism" argument as an overly broad and outdated defense for failing to allow its revenue-drivers (i.e., student athletes) to receive compensation.https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/20-512_gfbh.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}} The NCAA contended that the Court should defer to its amateurism model because it is a joint venture along with its member schools, but the Court instead reasoned that deference was inappropriate since the NCAA has a monopoly in the relevant market. The Court further rejected the NCAA's appeal that it was not a "commercial enterprise," noting the "highly profitable" and "professional" nature of certain college sports.
Shortly after the Court's decision in Alston, the NCAA issued an interim name, image, and likeness policy which permits student athletes to earn this type of compensation.http://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/ncaa/NIL/NIL_InterimPolicy.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926045019/http://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/ncaa/NIL/NIL_InterimPolicy.pdf |date=September 26, 2021 }} {{Bare URL PDF|date=March 2022}} States have also followed suit by enacting their own laws.{{cite journal | url=https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/law_journal_law_policy/vol65/iss1/15/ | title=Pay to Play: Looking Beyond Direct Compensation and Towards Paying College Athletes for Themselves | journal=Washington University Journal of Law & Policy | date=January 2021 | volume=65 | issue=1 | pages=213–246 | last1=Tepen | first1=Luke }} For example, Illinois Public Law 102-0042 permits athlete to receive market-value compensation for use of their name, image, and likeness.{{cite web | url=https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/publicacts/fulltext.asp?Name=102-0042 | title=Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 102-0042 }}
Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law on September 30, 2019. The law was scheduled to go into effect in 2023, but was moved up to an effective date of September 1, 2021 thus enabling student-athletes to own their own name, image, and likeness, and profit from them, just like any other college student or citizen can.{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/27735933/california-defies-ncaa-gov-gavin-newsom-signs-law-fair-pay-play-act|title=California defies NCAA as Gov. Gavin Newsom signs into law Fair Pay to Play Act|first=Dan|last=Murphy|date=September 30, 2019|work=ESPN}}{{cite web | url=https://sd09.senate.ca.gov/news/20210621-skinner-and-bradford-move-effective-date-fair-pay-play-act-sept-1-2021 | title=Skinner and Bradford Move up Effective Date of Fair Pay to Play Act to Sept. 1, 2021 | date=June 21, 2021 }}
References
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