New NCAA Rule Allows College Athletes to get Paid – What Does this Mean for Personal Injury Cases?
The NCAA – or the National Collegiate Athletic Association – is a “member-led organization dedicated to providing a pathway to opportunity for college athletes,” according to their official website. NCAA athletes are granted a number of benefits, like scholarships to cover room, board, and tuition, for instance. Other benefits also include small stipends for living expenses, materials, and typically for any sport-related injuries.
NCAA athletes, however, do not get paid for playing on college teams, even though the colleges do make money off their athletes. Under previous NCAA rules, student-athletes must maintain their status as amateur athletes. What does this mean? Amateur athletes cannot do any of the following:
- Promote or endorse any products
- Receive any prize money based on their performance
- Receive funding to offset training expenses
- Receive payment for playing
- Receive representation or be marketed by a sports agent or a sports professional
- Receive any compensation for use of their name, image, or likeness (NIL).
In other words, the athlete cannot make money for playing the sport, although the colleges and universities where these athletes are playing are definitely making money off their athletes.
A recent survey determined that 62% of adults believe that college athletes should be paid for the use of their identify in certain products (like jerseys and other apparel, for instance). The survey also determined that 61% of people support the idea of allowing athletes to make money at least through endorsements.
Recent Changes to NCAA Policy
Very recently, the NCAA approved a policy (although only temporary) that would allow college athletes to get paid. More specifically, athletes in all three divisions would be allowed to get paid for their name, image, or likeness being used. As mentioned, the policy is only temporary; it is expected to last until there is either federal legislation or the NCAA’s development of permanent rules in regards to the subject.
What does this mean? The changes to the NCAA’s policy means that college athletes will be able to make money of their name, image, or likeness. This would include things like autograph signings, endorsements, and personal appearances. Almost immediately as soon as this change went into effect, college athletes started monetizing their social media accounts, signing deals with brands, and launching their own brands, for example.
The recent craze which has allowed student athletes to make money are NFTs – or non-fungible tokens. NFTs are digital assets. For athletes specifically, NFTs are typically in the form of photographs, videos, etc. Through NFTs, athletes are essentially making money through their name, image, or likeness.
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Previously, college athletes did not get any income from playing sports; therefore, if they were in a personal injury accident, like a car accident, for instance, they wouldn’t be able to recover any sort of compensation for lost earnings (both past and future). Now that players are essentially allowed to make money, they technically are earning an income. Therefore, in the case of personal injury accidents, they could be compensated for their lost earnings. This means that any personal injury case filed by a college athlete who is making money through his or her name, image, or likeness, could potentially have a higher value.
Who Does This Apply To?When we think of college athletes, we typically think of basketball players and football players alike. This is because these sports are more popular, and their athletes tend to be more recognized. Although this new policy does apply to the fields of college basketball and college football, it also applies to other college sports.
Men’s NCAA sports programs include the following:
- Baseball
- Basketball
- Cross country
- Fencing
- Football
- Golf
- Gymnastics
- Ice hockey
- Lacrosse
- Rifle
- Skiing
- Soccer
- Swimming and diving
- Tennis
- Track and field (indoor)
- Track and field (outdoor)
- Volleyball
- Water polo
- Wrestling
Women’s NCAA sports programs include the following:
- Basketball
- Beach volleyball
- Bowling
- Cross country
- Fencing
- Field hockey
- Golf
- Gymnastics
- Ice hockey
- Lacrosse
- Rifle
- Rowing
- Skiing
- Soccer
- Softball
- Swimming and diving
- Tennis
- Track and field (indoor)
- Track and field (outdoor)
- Volleyball
- Water polo
If you are a student athlete in any of the sports programs listed above, then you could start earning money – if you are ever injured in a personal injury accident, you could definitely be eligible to recover monetary compensation for your lost earnings (including lost earning potential).
Are you a student athlete that was injured in a personal injury accident? If so, you can trust our personal injury lawyers here at Downtown L.A. Law Group to handle your personal injury claim effectively and help you recover the compensation that you are owed. Whether you were injured in a car accident, truck accident, pedestrian accident, assault and battery incident, or any other type of personal injury incident, you can trust that our lawyers are ready to represent you and fight for your right to recover the highest amount of compensation available for your case. Contact us today to learn more about your rights after a personal injury accident.
We offer free legal services, including free consultations and free second opinions. During these free legal services, our lawyers will be available to answer all your questions and address all your concerns. Our injury attorneys are ready to provide you with all the information that you need to pursue your lawsuit and win.
We offer a Zero-Fee guarantee; therefore, you will not be required to pay upfront legal fees for any of our legal services. In addition, we work on a contingency structure. This means that our clients will not be required to pay anything until after reaching a positive claim outcome. If you don’t win, you simply won’t pay.
Contact us today for more information about filing a personal injury lawsuit and getting the highest recovery possible. Our lawyers are ready to help you.
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