We spent some time Thursday on the Morning News talking about an Associated Press story about the California Legislature passing a bill yesterday (September 11th) that would allow college athletes in the state to sign endorsement deals and have agents.

The measure was approved without a dissenting vote but Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom hasn't said whether he'll sign it.  The NCAA hopes he won't and has urged him not to, warning that if he does, California colleges and universities would eventually be banned from NCAA competitions because they would have a, quote, "unfair recruiting advantage."  Why would a top athlete go to UW or WSU if they could make bank attending a college in California?

There is plenty of debate over the fairness of not paying athletes in the multibillion-dollar college sports industry.  The NCAA has set up a committee to look into the issue, and the collegiate sports organization says California's legislative action is premature.

The Pac-12 conference, which includes USC, UCLA, Stanford and Cal, has also asked that California delay action until the NCAA committee announces its proposals in a report due out next month.

 

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