A recently passed bill in the California legislature may soon transform the structure of college athletics.

In a segment with The Dan Patrick Show, Bruce Feldman of The Athletic and Fox Sports, outlined the NCAA’s reaction to the possibility that athletes at California colleges could profit off of their name, image and likeness. They could also hire agents and sign endorsement deals. If it becomes law, it would take effect in 2023. Gov. Gavin Newsom has not said whether he will sign the bill.

“I think the NCAA is really scared of it,” Feldman told Patrick. “Mark Emmert, the president (of the NCAA) has come out and really tried to make some threats about it. Talking to folks all over the West Coast who work in college athletics, I think the thing that they’re scared of, is the unintended consequences they think will come with this.”

Examples of that include card shows and what Feldman called, “low-hanging fruit.”

“How do you monitor that kind of money, where it comes from,” Feldman said. “Is this just going to be an easier way for boosters to funnel money to players. I think that’s the part that they know is going to be a big problem for them.”

About the name, image and likeness, Feldman said, “The NCAA has tried to get a handle on it and they’ve been not able to do it. It’s 2023, it’s really unwieldy and I really don’t think anybody knows where it’s headed at this point and what the NCAA can do about it.”

Feldman added that the NCAA knows it always loses the public relations battle on this front. While TV networks and others make money, and players receive scholarships, which is not insignificant, the public believes there’s got to be a better way to deal with this.