With one signature from Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday morning, California took the lead on college athlete compensation with the approval of Senate Bill 206, which will allow athletes to profit from the use of their name, image and likeness starting in 2023.
With that same sweep of the pen, though, come even more questions.
The NCAA released a statement Monday that showed college sports' governing body is in the dark, too, about what happens next.
"As a membership organization, the NCAA agrees changes are needed to continue to support student-athletes, but improvement needs to happen on a national level through the NCAA's rules-making process," the statement read. "Unfortunately, this new law already is creating confusion for current and future student-athletes, coaches, administrators and campuses, and not just in California."
The thing is, the bill is pretty simple if one actually takes the time to read it instead of taking headlines at face value or believing the NCAA's previous tactics, which have called the bill "unconstitutional" or an existential threat. The relevant portion of the bill is about 700 words, and it does not threaten the future of college sports.
Here are key questions and answers about the law:
