Local Athletes And Universities React To Gov. Newsom Signing Fair Pay To Play Bill
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A swift signature and now California collegiate athletes can get paid.
"It's going to change college sports for the better by now having finally the interests of the athletes," Governor Gavin Newsom said. "It's going to initiate dozens of other states to introduce similar legislation."
The Fair Pay To Play law allows college athletes in California to sign endorsement deals for things like their image or likeness without putting their eligibility on the line.
It's a move current Sacramento State football players are all for.
"If anything, an endorsement, hearing that you can do it not instead of then, is most likely to be a good thing," Xavier Ugorji said.
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"We are putting our bodies on the line and doing things that things that a lot people aren't doing," Baron Harris said. "If you're that good and your chances are going to the NFL, you're not really worried about the money. So, I think it's bigger than just the endorsements."
The new law has been seen as a recruiting tool that's pitted sports fans against one another. Some argue that the new law could give California an unfair advantage by enticing athletes to come to California for the money.
"If this were to go in effect in 2023, that's certainly be something that the NCAA is looking at," Mark Orr, Sacramento State athletic director, said.
Orr, as well as the head football coach at UC Davis, told CBS13 that they're supportive of a measure to support the student-athletes. Both also said it's too early to tell how the new law would impact the programs and recruiting.
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Some feel that money is nice, but that won't be the deciding factor when it comes to signing a player.
"I know most kids are just thinking where would they fit in and where they would play, start on the field basically. Just how I chose this school," Ugorji said.
"Just because you're in California doesn't mean you're going to win every game and that may not be enough for players to stay in California," Harris said.
The NCAA said in a statement that it knows that something has to change when it comes to player compensation, but it wants to have a universal plan in place so individual states are coming up with plans that could contradict the NCAA's future system.
