Amateur athletes at universities in the US may hope to be able to market themselves in the future. The board of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has taken at least a first step and wants to allow up-and-coming athletes in the future to earn money with their fame. He unanimously agreed that the athletes "may benefit from their name, their images, their illustrations".
In the US this topic has been discussed for years and the current development is seen as an important push. At the center of the discussions for years was the accusation that the universities would enrich the awareness of their athletes too much.
The largest US association for college athletes has said in a press release that it "must embrace change to give college athletes the best careers possible."
But questions and implementation are still open. As a next step, the NCAA and its member schools want to examine whether it is compatible for self-marketing athletes to make a profit while keeping their amateur status untouched. The NCAA hopes the rule will be introduced by January 2021 at the latest.
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"The Board emphasizes that change must be consistent with the values of academia and higher education, and not turn student athletes into institutional staff," said NCAA Chief Executive Officer Michael V. Drake, who as President also chaired the conference Ohio State University chairs.
The first push of the NCAA comes as no surprise. Last month, the state of California passed a law prohibiting NCAA colleges in the state from banning its college athletes from making money on activities such as signings or advertising on social networks.
The California law comes into force in 2023. More than a dozen states have followed similar bills. Some hope their laws can be implemented in 2020.
