Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios
The NCAA is pushing new rules that would allow schools to directly pay college athletes for the first time.
Why it matters: The changes would be revolutionary for an organization that has long fought tooth and nail to preserve the amateur nature of college sports.
What's happening: The proposal — outlined in a letter to Division I colleges today — would allow schools to enter into name, image and likeness (NIL) deals directly with their students.
- The NCAA lifted its ban on athletes profiting off NIL deals in 2021, allowing them to earn money from outside parties — but not with colleges.
- Charlie Baker, the NCAA's president and former Massachusetts governor, wrote that "colleges and universities need to be more flexible, and the NCAA needs to be more flexible, too."
The big picture: The NCAA — since its founding 117 years ago — has cherished and enforced the notion of amateurism among college athletes.
- Students who play sports have been limited from receiving compensation beyond scholarships and some related costs of education.
- The organization has struggled to keep up with changing public opinion around compensating athletes. In recent years, some lawmakers have become hostile to the NCAA's position.
Zoom in: Colleges that choose to take part in the new system — if it's approved — would be required to invest at least $30,000 per year into a trust fund for athletes.
- Schools with "the most financial resources and the biggest brands" would form a new subdivision that could set its own rules for roster size, recruitment and transfers.
- The proposal suggests the money would have to be distributed "within the framework of Title IX," meaning equally between men and women.
- Baker wrote that the rules would "help level what is fast becoming a very unlevel playing field between men and women student-athletes."