Val Ackerman: NCAA rethinking student athlete endorsement deals
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Big East commissioner Val Ackerman told SI Now’s Maggie Gray on Friday that the NCAA is reconsidering allowing student athletes to sign endorsement deals.
Under the current rules, student athletes may not be paid for the use of their image or likeness or they would forfeit their amateur status and their collegiate eligibility could be affected. When Gray asked Ackerman why students shouldn’t be able to capitalize on the value they bring to their university, Ackerman responded that the NCAA is considering changing that rule.
“That’s one that’s actually under consideration I believe by the NCAA,” Ackerman said. “It’s actually a time right now where student athlete interests are being closely examined. I don’t have an answer for you on that one today but I will say that and a number of other topics are under review, and I think rightly by the NCAA and it’s very possible that over the course of the next year or two as these these ideas work their way through the legislative system you could see changes.”
The NCAA is currently facing a class action suit brought forth by former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon, which claims the NCAA has violated antitrust laws by restricting student athletes’ ability to generate revenue off their own names, images and likenesses. The plaintiffs in the case requested last month that the Supreme Court hear the case.
