Profiting off athletes

“We are at a critical juncture in college athletics, and it really isn’t an exaggeration to say the future of college sports is in jeopardy,” Mark Few testified in front of the U.S Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation yesterday (“Panel hears more on rights for athletes,” June 18).

But what exactly is in jeopardy? The right to make a profit off their own name. Current NCAA “Name, Image, and Likeness” (NIL) rights have been criticized for being too weak and detrimental to student athletes. Currently, student athletes can’t be compensated for their name being used for endorsements, merchandise and social media.

But why? The NCAA was founded in 1906; it’s embarrassing that from then until now they have never established rights to properly compensate their athletes for using their own name and likeness in endorsements and promotions. In 2017, both the NCAA Men’s Final Four and Championship and the NCAA College Football Playoffs were in the top 10 most valuable sports brands in the world. The NCAA makes so much revenue, yet they don’t pay the people that make them money.

There is hope though. Many states are starting to introduce NIL laws to pay their student athletes, like California did in 2019. Many senators at the hearing agreed there needs to be proper compensation for student athletes of any division or sport. Let us hope from now on that student athletes who use their name, image or likeness for advertisements get paid their fair share.

Fionn Lewis

Spokane