California SB 206 Signed Into Law

California Gov. Gavin Newsom passed SB 206, the Fair Pay to Play Act, into law on Monday morning.

The bill will go into effect in 2023 and will allow college athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness.

Newsom’s signing of the bill was done on HBO’s “The Show,” which is hosted by Lebron James.

"This is the beginning of a national movement — one that transcends geographic and partisan lines," said Gov. Newsom on "The Shop." "Collegiate student athletes put everything on the line — their physical health, future career prospects and years of their lives to compete. Colleges reap billions from these student athletes' sacrifices and success but, in the same breath, block them from earning a single dollar. That's a bankrupt model — one that puts institutions ahead of the students they are supposed to serve. It needs to be disrupted."

The Fair Pay to Play Act allows student-athletes in California to sign endorsement deals, earn compensation based on usage of their name, image and likeness, and sign licensing contracts that would allow them to earn money.

“The Pac-12 is disappointed in the passage of SB 206 and believes it will have very significant negative consequences for our student-athletes and broader universities in California,” the Pac-12 Conference said in an official statement. “This legislation will lead to the professionalization of college sports and many unintended consequences related to this professionalism, imposes a state law that conflicts with national rules, will blur the lines for how California universities recruit student-athletes and compete nationally, and will likely reduce resources and opportunities for student-athletes in Olympic sports and have a negative disparate impact on female student-athletes.”

The bill will prohibit the NCAA from barring a university from competition if its athletes are compensated. Currently, the NCAA rules prohibit student-athletes from profiting any way from their respective sports.

SB 206 will still forbid schools from directly paying athletes and will also prohibit the revocation of a student’s scholarship as a result of earning compensation.

The full bill can be read here.

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