I don’t know about you, but I sure as hell like to be paid for any time and energy I exert at the workplace. Sadly, those same rules don’t apply in the NCAA, which I previously noted is big business for everybody but Black student-athletes.
Thankfully, the tide is beginning to turn as states like Florida and California have signed bills into law that allow collegiate athletes to earn income from the use of their names, images, and likenesses. And next up to bat is Alabama, where AL.com and ABC 3340 report college athletes will soon be able to do the same.
The bill, which was sponsored by Rep. Kyle South, was passed by legislators last week and has now been signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey. South stated that the main purpose of the bill was to ensure that Alabama universities weren’t at a recruiting disadvantage (which is truthful, but kinda fucked up) since the state previously didn’t have a law in place that allowed student-athletes to be compensated for their names, image, or likeness.
The law goes into effect on July 1, but won’t apply until the NCAA gets its shit together and adopts bylaws allowing payments.
“As coaches, we are able to tap into that resource and make money because of our images and likeness that we get to utilize. I think it’s only fair to these student-athletes to get the same opportunities,” Mark Hudspeth, former head football coach at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, told ABC 3340. “I think this a be a great benefit to a lot of hopefully male and female student-athletes.”
Nick Saban, the greatest college football coach in the history of ever, just won his seventh national championship in 2020 and was paid a cool $9.3 million for his trouble. Do you know how much his players made last season? Or how much any of the hundreds of players who have propelled Saban into the record books have made throughout his coaching career?
Not a dime.
Meanwhile, the rest of the football program (especially Saban’s coaching staff) has been caking, too.
This is the right move and while not perfect, it’s a step in the right direction.