NCAA Paves Way for College Athletes to Profit From Their Likeness

In a huge first step for college athletes to make money while playing their sport, the NCAA announced a major policy shift Tuesday.

According to CBS, administrators in all three divisions of college sports are being directed to consider making new rules that allow college athletes to profit off of their image, likeness, and name.

That process would also allow players to sign agents and endorsements, the CBS report explains.

That's a huge turnaround from the NCAA's previous stance, where scholarship athletes found to be making money off their likeness would lose eligibility.

California has already made such a change to it's laws. The NCAA made clear today that any changes must reaffirm that the athletes are students first, that there must be a clear divide between amateur and professional opportunities, and that changes must protect the recruiting process and competition of collegiate sports.

It's important to remember that this move would not mean athletes are getting paid specifically for their performance on the field, i.e. getting a paycheck for each game they play.

• Fans of the franchise have been pining for it to return for several years.

• No rules have been made yet by any schools.

• Questions still remain on whether EA Sports would be need to sign individual image/likeness deals with athletes individually or if they could sign deals with colleges as a whole.

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