On July 1, the NCAA officially declared that all student athletes could begin making money off of their name, image and likeness (NIL) through different endeavours of the athlete’s choosing. Before this change, NCAA college athletes had a decision to make: to play college sports without profiting off of their success, or to lose their playing eligibility by turning professional and making a profit.
This decision comes after years of controversy surrounding the notion that while college athletes were making money for their universities, they were not making money from them. Nancy Skinner, member of the California State Senate, became a figure-head in the effort to end punishment of NCAA athletes who signed endorsement deals.