If you follow college sports especially football then you've probably heard about the NCAA's "Name, Image and Likeness" or NIL. The debate has raged for years on whether or not, student-athletes should get paid to play.

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The athlete wasn't allowed to share in the benefit (beyond a scholarship) which was much less then the revenue than the student-athlete produced for the school. In 2019, the revenue generated by the athletic departments was almost $19 billion.

In June 2021, the Supreme Court unanimously (that never happens) ruled against the NCAA in the NCAA v. Alston case. Basically it said that the NCAA couldn't limit education-related payments to student-athletes.

A couple of things remained: No pay-for-play and no quid pro quo. In other words, the athlete wasn't compensated on their performance and and the recruit wasn't supposed to sign a deal contingent on going to a particular school

The NCAA deferred to state laws and if no state law then the schools themselves on the NIL. Some schools were all over it and others were caught flat-footed. What ended up happening was college collective chaos involving local restaurants, car dealerships and boosters.

New York State Signs NIL Legislation

New York was one of the states that didn't have any law about the NIL...until now. On Monday, November 21st, Governor Hochul signed legislation that lets New York college student-athletes receive compensation for their name, image or likeness without forfeiting their scholarship or eligibility to participate in college sports.

This new law stops a college or collegiate athletic conference (including the NCAA) from upholding any rules that stops students from earning compensation as a result of the use of their name, image or likeness.

This new legislation also allows the student-athlete to have representation provided by attorneys and athlete agents licensed in New York State. This is just a part of the new legislation. You can read more about Governor Hochul's newly signed law here.

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