California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed into law the “Fair Pay to Play Act,” which states that colleges in California cannot punish their athletes for collecting endorsement money.

The law, which takes effect in 2023, states that students at public and private universities in the state will be allowed to sign deals with businesses and profit from their images, names or likenesses, just like professional athletes.

The NCAA previously asked Newsom to veto the bill, and warned that it “would erase the critical distinction between college and professional athletes.” There’s also a believe that the law would give California universities an unfair recruiting advantage, which could prompt the NCAA to bar them from competition.

“I’m not going to say this is checkmate, but this is a major problem for the NCAA,” Newsom said on the HBO show “The Shop.” “It’s going to initiate dozens of other states into similar legislation, and it’s going to change college sports for the better, by having now the interest, finally, on par with the interests of the institutions. Now we’re rebalancing that power arrangement.”

The NCAA released a statement after Newsom signed the bill.

“As a membership organization, the NCAA agrees changes are needed to continue to support student-athletes, but improvement needs to happen on a national level through the NCAA’s rules-making process. Unfortunately, this new law already is creating confusion for current and future student-athletes, coaches, administrators and campuses, and not just in California.

We will consider next steps in California while our members move forward with ongoing efforts to make adjustments to NCAA name, image and likeness rules that are both realistic in modern society and tied to higher education.

As more states consider their own specific legislation related to this topic, it is clear that a patchwork of different laws from different states will make unattainable the goal of providing a fair and level playing field for 1,100 campuses and nearly half a million student-athletes nationwide.”