The Fair Pay to Play Act, originally known as California Senate Bill 206, is a California statute that will allow collegiate athletes to acquire

endorsement Endorsement (alternatively spelled "indorsement") may refer to a: * testimonial, a written or spoken statement promoting or advertising a product * political endorsement, publicly declaring support for a candidate * form added to an insurance po ...

s and sponsorships while still maintaining athletic eligibility. The bill would affect college athletes in California's public universities and colleges.

History

The bill was introduced by

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Nancy Skinner and co-authored by Scott Wilk and

Steven Bradford Steven Bradford (born January 12, 1960) is an American politician currently serving in the California State Senate. He is a Democrat representing the 35th district, encompassing parts of Los Angeles County. Prior to his election to the state s ...

. The bill passed the

California State Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Cal ...

31 to 5, with Shannon Grove voting against the bill, on May 22, 2019, with the California Assembly unanimously passing it on September 11, 2019. The bill was bolstered by testimony from former

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

women's volleyball star and 2015 national freshman of the year

Hayley Hodson Hayley Hodson is a former Stanford University volleyball player. She was listed as the number one college volleyball recruit by ''Volleyball'' magazine in April 2015, and she was the named National Freshmen of the year and All-American by the Ame ...

, and Oklahoma State University football star

Russell Okung Russell Okung ( ; born October 7, 1988) is an American football offensive tackle who is a free agent. He played college football for Oklahoma State University, and was twice recognized as an All-American. He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks ...

. The Supreme Court's recent decision in NCAA v. Alston sheds light on modern federal attitudes towards student athlete compensation. In this case, the Court struck down any potential limitations on education-related benefits that student athletes may receive. 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 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. States have also followed suit by enacting their own laws. For example, Illinois Public Law 102-0042 permits athlete to receive market-value compensation for use of their name, image, and likeness. 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.

References

{{reflist California statutes 2019 in California National Collegiate Athletic Association 2019 in sports in California