Proponents of a California bill that would allow college student-athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness, are preparing for a Thursday vote by releasing a video Thursday that satirizes the NCAA’s existing amateur policies.
The video, created by the College Athlete Advocacy Initiative, features three fictional high school athletes on signing day. As they don apparel from their chosen schools, they state that they are happy to surrender their “name, likeness and image for the next four years.”
The video ends with the message: “There are over 480,000 college athletes, and none of them have the right to their own name, image or likeness."
The USA Today notes that the commercial is a takeoff of the NCAA commercial in which former football great Jerry Rice says: “There are over 480,000 college athletes. Only 2% will go pro.”
The commercial comes as the California State Assembly prepares for a Thursday vote on a bill that would take effect on Jan. 1, 2023, and would allow student-athletes at California public schools to make money off their name, image and likeness. Former college athletes Josh Rosen, Chris Borland and Nigel Hayes have all come out in formal support for the bill.
For its part, the NCAA has responded by saying that if passed, it would consider banning California schools from all championship events and finals.
