A New Era Dawns In College Sports, As The NCAA Scrambles To Keep Up

A new era in college sports begins this week.

Following Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear's executive order allowing college athletes to be compensated for the use of their name, image and likeness — known by its abbreviation "NIL" — at least seven states will put into effect NIL laws, on Thursday. The laws allow athletes to make money for things like endorsement deals, signing autographs and social media content.

That's been prohibited under NCAA rules, but now, the organization is in the process of reforming those rules. Especially after the recent Supreme Court decision weakened the NCAA's long held, but increasingly outdated, notion of amateurism in college sports.

States take the lead

In 2019, California struck the first blow against the NCAA, in a very California way — a bill signing by Gov. Gavin Newsom on the set of Lebron James' HBO show, The Shop.

The state's Fair Pay to Play Act, the first NIL bill, reflected the growing discontent about the NCAA's , with so-called amateur athletes in the major sports generating vast revenues and not sharing in them.