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The unanimous vote follows growing pressure on
the National Collegiate Athletic Association to lift
restrictions on athletes that have kept them from sharing in the
financial rewards generated by their performances.
The change will likely benefit athletes in high-profile sports
such as football and basketball, which drive billions of dollars
in advertising and revenue for media outlets, schools, coaches
and the NCAA itself.
"Its a beautiful day for all college athletes going forward from
this day on!" Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James wrote on
Twitter.
James, who bypassed college basketball and went straight from
high school to the National Basketball Association, cautiously
applauded the move as "not a victory but a start."
California has already approved legislation to allow student
athletes to earn endorsement money, long forbidden by the NCAA
as part of its mission to protect the amateur status of
collegiate sports.
The NCAA board, composed mostly of university officials, voted
to allow student athletes to benefit from the use of their name,
image or likeness. It directed each of the NCAA's three
divisions to update their bylaws no later than January 2021.
“The board’s action today creates a path to enhance
opportunities for student-athletes while ensuring they compete
against students and not professionals,” NCAA President Mark
Emmert said in a statement on the website ncaa.org.
The Indianapolis-based NCAA reported total revenues of more than
$1 billion last year, about 80% of which came from television
and marketing rights fees.
California last month became the first U.S. state to give
college athletes the potentially lucrative opportunity to earn
endorsement money, with Governor Gavin Newsom signing
legislation into law that would take effect in 2023. Sponsors
said it could encourage star athletes to stay in school rather
than dropping out to turn professional.
New Jersey quickly moved to follow suit, with lawmakers last
week introducing the "New Jersey Fair Play Act," to allow
student athletes compensation for use of their names or
likenesses and also the ability to hire their own agent or
lawyer.
Similar bills were under consideration in Florida, New York,
Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Minnesota and in Congress,
according to media reports.
The NCAA said "modernization" of its guidelines should "reaffirm
that student-athletes are students first and not employees of
the university."
The NCAA board voted after hearing the recommendations from a
working group that gathered input from student-athletes,
coaches, college presidents, faculty and commissioners from the
three divisions, the NCAA said.
(Reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New York; Editing by Frank
McGurty, Tom Brown and Bill Berkrot)
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