California last year took the lead as the first state to legalize name, image and likeness payments for college athletes. Now The Golden State has taken the next step, and it’s a potential game-changer in the NIL world. A college athlete could make a healthy six-figure annual income if this legislation becomes law.

Senate Bill 1401, named the “College Athlete Race and Gender Equity Act,” cuts right to the heart of the collegiate model and the ideals of amateurism, the Los Angeles Times reported.

SB 1401 would require California schools to share 50% of annual revenues in football and men’s and women’s basketball with the athletes, initiating a new era of “pay for play” — and what college sports leaders fear would be a doomsday scenario for athletic departments that currently use profits from revenue sports to fund their non-revenue sports programs.

The bill has passed through the Senate education and judiciary committees and now sits with the appropriations committee, which will weigh its budgetary impacts before deciding whether it will move onto the Senate floor or die. That announcement will come Thursday at the committee’s annual “suspense hearing” — a fitting name because anyone plugged into the college sports industry should be watching the result closely.

Under California Senate Bill 1401, a USC football player could make up to $200,000 per year in shared revenue. @BradyMcCollough with more on the new bill, which currently sits in the appropriations committee: https://t.co/g8lF5vbnLB

— Ryan Kartje (@Ryan_Kartje) May 16, 2022

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.