If you follow college athletics you know that there has always been the discussion of whether or not players should be able to make money. If the Head coaches, assistants, trainers, and more can get paid why can’t the athletes who are the money makers get paid? Back on September 30th, 2019 California became the first state to allow college athletes to make money off of their name’s. On June 30th, 2021 the NCAA board of directors for Division 1 approved of the rule that athletes could make money off of their names.
Also known as NIL deals. Now that there is a new era in college sports there has been no business questions, ideas, and deals appearing throughout the top athletes and schools. There has already been the start of recreating the video games NCAA Football and NCAA Basketball. But the biggest question that has been throughout the world of all college athletes specifically in the Big10. The Big10 just signed the richest annual television contract at 1 Billion dollars which is the biggest in college television ever. This new contract has raised eyebrows of all the athletes being shown on television to fulfill the Big10’s portion of the deal. Some athletes believe they’re be entitled to some money from the deal and others are just grateful to be shown on television. For example a Gymnast named Sierra Brooks from Michigan is just excited for the opportunity to be on tv. On the other side C.J. Stroud who is Ohio State’s star quarterback believes players should be paid also because they’re the ones bringing in the money.
This deal provides more than just a financial opportunity for the student athletes but also a chance for their sport to be seen consistently and allows their friends and family to see them compete if they can’t in person. C.J. stroud expressed that even a smaller percentage would help the student athletes in a big way. Stroud was backed up by a statement by Xavier Johnson a guard for Indiana’s basketball team. Johnson had expressed that it would only be fair for the student athletes to get a certain amount because people pay to watch them play. Although athlete pay is far from a done deal, Gene Smith the athletic director at Ohio State expressed that players already receive a portion of the income by using the resources of trainers, the sports psychologists, strength coaches, and many other helpful resources.