Opinion: College athletes should play for enjoyment not a paycheck

Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Fair Pay to Play Act which may force the NCAA to change their policy and could possibly create an unfair balance of the student population within NCAA certified schools.

The new California bill will take effect on January 1, 2023, and will cover all colleges in California, except for community colleges. 

By signing the Fair Pay to Play Act, California has become the first state in the United States that allows student athletes to profit off their name and gain endorsement deals. 

The Fair Pay to Play Act contradicts the NCAA Amateurism Rules, which outlaws student athletes from profiting off their talents through endorsement deals. 

The lives of student athletes can be intense.

Along with games, practices, and injuries, these athletes are meant to continue to pursue an education through their college.  

Student athletes shouldn’t get paid for playing sports because they’re playing them voluntarily.  

To be fair, they are risking their health and well-being, just to entertain others and do what they love, but students in clubs don’t get paid to be in a club or for partaking in social events.

This bill could potentially cause many issues from different programs and clubs from the school for inequality.

One of the real possible outcomes of the Fair Pay to Play Act is that all universities in California may become banned from participating in any NCAA tournaments. 

If California universities were to get banned from NCAA tournaments, then schools like UCLA, USC, and Stanford wouldn’t be able to add to their long history of sports accolades. 

 California legalizing student athletes to profit off of their name and get endorsements may create a competitive imbalance. 

In 2023, from an athletic perspective, it would seem more desirable to attend a college in California, where you could get make money for endorsements and jersey sales, rather than going to a college where the prospect wouldn’t get paid anything to do what they love, just as it is now. 

The Fair Pay to Play Act would not only create a higher demand to get into a California university, but it would create an unfair balance of students at universities in other states. 

Though this won’t affect the student athletes at LBCC, in 2023, this could affect the current student athletes who plan to transfer over to a university, after their tenure at LBCC.