MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — This week the nexus of the college sports universe is California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that will allow California student-athletes to profit off of their name, image and likeness beginning in 2023.
The signing itself was an orchestrated piece of political theater, with Newsom appearing on LeBron James’ show “The Shop” rather than doing it at his desk. James is a peculiar advocate given that he exercised his right to skip college and began profiting immediately, but an audience is an audience.
Theatrics aside, California won’t be the only state applying pressure on the NCAA to change its rules about player compensation.