College athletes in Georgia may now get paid for the use of their name, image, and likeness, under a new law signed May 6 by Gov. Brian Kemp. But star players shouldn’t get too excited yet. Officials say the legislation won’t take effect until the NCAA, which governs collegiate sports, changes its rules or Congress adopts legislation to allow student-athlete compensation.
Georgia HB 617 applies to all student-athletes participating in intercollegiate sports at state-run, independent, and private schools in Georgia.
During Thursday’s bill signing ceremony at the UGA football recruiting center in Athens, Kemp said he hopes the bill will encourage more student-athletes to come to Georgia to learn and compete.
“College athletics are an essential part of the fabric of who we are as Georgians. It is well past time for college athletes to be fairly compensated for all that they do for our universities and our state,” the governor said.
Scholarships do not qualify as compensation under the new law, and it prohibits schools from revoking existing scholarships or eligibility based on an athletes’ pay. The law allows student-athletes to have agents and requires agents to adhere to the federal Sports Agent Responsibility and Trust Act.
The law also requires colleges to conduct financial literacy and life skills workshops for athletes at the start of their freshman and junior years.
“The workshop shall, at a minimum, include information concerning financial aid, debt management, and a recommended budget for student-athletes based on the current academic year’s cost of attendance. The workshop shall also include information on time management skills necessary for success as a student-athlete and available academic resources. The workshop may not include any marketing, advertising, referral, or solicitation by providers of financial products or services.” – HB 617
Questionable provision
Similar to California’s Fair Pay for Play Act signed in 2019, Georgia’s law does not allow schools to pay student-athletes beyond the scholarships they already receive. But Georgia’s law does include a questionable provision that allows schools to withhold up to 75% of the athletes’ endorsement income. The school would then place that money in a pool for all athletes and give it out once athletes graduate or withdraw from school.
The pool provision drew scorn from some corners, with at least one critic calling it “stupid.”
“Obviously, if programs are smart, they wouldn’t exercise this provision because of how it would detrimentally impact recruiting,” says Ijaz Ibrahim in an article for the online publication CC Everybody. “Why would any top-level athlete choose to go to a Georgia school if the schools can cut into their earning power?”
In April 2020, the NCAA Board of Governors voted in favor of rule changes to allow athletes to get paid for third-party endorsements. In January, the board announced that each NCAA division had developed proposals for implementing these changes. The new rules are expected to take effect at the beginning of the 2021-22 academic year.
A pending U.S. Supreme Court case on whether the NCAA violated federal antitrust laws by restricting what college athletes could be paid could help further define the debate. A decision is expected before the end of June.
Georgia’s law goes into effect as soon as the rules change, or June 30, 2025, whichever comes first. California’s law is set to take effect in 2023.
