How has California’s “Fair Pay to Play” Act changed college sport, if at all?

In September 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 206 (SB 206), the Fair Pay to Play Act (the Act), into law. [1] The Act, which is not scheduled to become law until January 1, 2023,[2] grants college athletes in California the right to hire agents and be paid for endorsements. As a result, college athletes will for the first time be allowed to financially benefit from their name image and likeness (NIL) to promote products and companies. For a more detailed examination of the Act and the potential impact of the law on the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) colleges and universities, and student athletes please see: “Paving the way to professionalism for college athletes –  review of California’s Fair Pay for Play Act[3]”.

Since the Act has been on the books for 10 months now, the purpose of this article is to examine what else, if anything, has changed. In particular, the article will focus on changes at:

• the NCAA,
• the federal government, and
• the state legislatures.