NCAA explores compensation for names, likeness





  • Free membership to online gaming service of your choice exploiting your likeness.



  • Could you imagine? These young kids, making money off of their own likeness. THE MADNESS. Surely this would create an imbalance in D1 Sports.

    It isn’t like we ever see a major imbalance in Women’s basketball, Men’s lacrosse, Men’s Hockey, Baseball, Women’s Soccer, Men’s Soccer, Softball, Volleyball, Rowing or Wrestling.



  • Lol…! “But don’t bring up paying them,” said the NCAA. “We are only interested in somehow offering compensation, not pay.” Bigtime Lmao!!!



  • Question - If you sign a contract and give up the right to make money off of your likeness, do you still have a right to make money off of your likeness?



  • The NCAA needs to do whatever it takes to get NCAA video games back.



  • Texas Hawk 10 said:

    The NCAA needs to do whatever it takes to get NCAA video games back.

    Day one purchases if they happen.



  • I think it is “un-American” to deprive any citizen of their right to profit from their likeness.



  • @drgnslayr Isn’t it in-American for a citizen to not be able to enter into a contract to sell his likeness?



  • HighEliteMajor said:

    @drgnslayr Isn’t it in-American for a citizen to not be able to enter into a contract to sell his likeness?

    They aren’t selling their likeness or else we’d still have NCAA video games.



  • @Kcmatt7 First, start with my questions. That will lead you to the correct conclusion.

    Second, no, your statement is completely wrong. Just like the incorrect rulings made by judges related to our president, that got overturned, one judge’s ruling does not mean that the interpretation of the law is correct. The NCAA settled the case when it came to claimed damages (which amounted to a measly $7500 per player involved, or right in that ballpark). Then, the NCAA decided to just stop the video games altogether and just skip the appeal.

    But the teeth of lawsuit involved the use of the likeness of former NCAA athletes, not current. Current ones were brought in, but that didn’t have the same legal positioning.

    The difference there is obvious. It was Sam Keller, and older Nebraska player and Ed O’Bannon, again a former player, that brought the suit.

    The NCAA can absolutely create a contract that provides that the athlete sells his likeness to the NCAA. So no, your relatively simplistic response is incorrect. I can sell my likeness, and so can you.

    And everyone should remember that the NCAA does use athletes likenesses all the time. Watch the TV commercial, look at the ads. And they use those likenesses all the time – look at our videos before the games at AFH, or look at the lead in highlights from seasons and tournaments in the past (such as Chalmers shot, or Manning pumping his fists).

    So, back to your statement, if the player can’t sell his likeness, how does the NCAA use a players likeness now, and after they are out of the game?



  • @HighEliteMajor I’m pretty sure it’s not selling your likeness if you’re not compensated. The students didn’t feel compensated enough with the scholarship and wanted cash. Now they don’t get the cool bonus of being in a video game. Too bad, we all lost there.



  • HighEliteMajor said:

    @Kcmatt7 First, start with my questions. That will lead you to the correct conclusion.

    Second, no, your statement is completely wrong. Just like the incorrect rulings made by judges related to our president, that got overturned, one judge’s ruling does not mean that the interpretation of the law is correct. The NCAA settled the case when it came to claimed damages (which amounted to a measly $7500 per player involved, or right in that ballpark). Then, the NCAA decided to just stop the video games altogether and just skip the appeal.

    But the teeth of lawsuit involved the use of the likeness of former NCAA athletes, not current. Current ones were brought in, but that didn’t have the same legal positioning.

    The difference there is obvious. It was Sam Keller, and older Nebraska player and Ed O’Bannon, again a former player, that brought the suit.

    The NCAA can absolutely create a contract that provides that the athlete sells his likeness to the NCAA. So no, your relatively simplistic response is incorrect. I can sell my likeness, and so can you.

    And everyone should remember that the NCAA does use athletes likenesses all the time. Watch the TV commercial, look at the ads. And they use those likenesses all the time – look at our videos before the games at AFH, or look at the lead in highlights from seasons and tournaments in the past (such as Chalmers shot, or Manning pumping his fists).

    So, back to your statement, if the player can’t sell his likeness, how does the NCAA use a players likeness now, and after they are out of the game?

    Feel free to also explain why they can’t sell a jersey with a name on the back or basketballs with autographs for profit.



  • I think it is un-American for me to not be able to sell my likeness.



  • @dylans You know the answer here – and it is the lack of distinction between being “paid” and being “compensated.” No one has to be paid. For a contract to be valid, there has to consideration. That consideration could generally be anything of value or consequence to a party. Mowing grass, painting a house, getting a scholarship/room/board/gear/stipend, agreeing not to sue someone, keeping possession of old documents, etc. I can agree to paint your house in exchange for you fixing my car. That’s consideration.

    The athletes sign on, whether it be an LOI, grant in aid, participation etc., and agree to adhere to NCAA rules.

    @Kcmatt7 You didn’t address my question to you. You, I take, understand that the NCAA can use a player’s likeness.

    Again, I think you know the answer to your question. But I suspect that you are unwilling to accept because you disagree with it. But I don’t know. Those are two different issues.

    First, and folks ignore this, the NCAA/member schools own the product. it’s copyrighted. The Jayhawk is not the player’s property.

    Second, the player CAN sell a jersey with their name on the back, and they can sign autographs on balls for profit. They CAN do that. But just not with copyrighted material.

    Third, of course, they will be ineligible to play college athletics or get a suspension if they do sell a jersey or sell autographs. But that’s the only thing in the world that’s really jeopardized by their actions in selling a jersey with their names or selling autographs.

    Fourth, that is of course because they agree as part of getting a scholarship and/or participating, that as a player, they are required to abide by NCAA rules.

    Again, as I’ve always said, this is about choice.

    Don’t like it, don’t like the rules, then don’t play NCAA basketball. Go get your name on a jersey and try to sell it, or just go autograph basketballs, and see if that’s worth it.

    What that undeniably shows is that without the product, without the NCAA/Colleges, that is worth virtually nothing to the player.

    Being a college player creates that value.



  • @HighEliteMajor No, the school is the one who does not and will not sell autographed balls or jerseys with names on the back. (I know this because I worked for the KU Store while I was in school).

    Why are they not able to sell these items if they own the players’ likeness?



  • @Kcmatt7 They don’t own the players’ likeness. They are able to use certain aspects of the players’ likeness. They also have the ability by their rules to control the players’ use of their likeness only while the player desires to be eligible for NCAA competition.



  • Even if they pay players for whatever, the cheating will continue. Duke and Kentucky will continue to pull strings to get top players we and a few other elites will get the leftovers, and the rest of the country will have to raid the leftovers of the leftovers.



  • @Kcmatt7 I didn’t get one last year, but there are official KU sanctioned autograph men’s (and women’s) basketballs you can buy. I’m not sure where you get them online (used to be kustore.com; it’s changed), but you could pick them up at the allen field house gift shop.



  • dylans said:

    @Kcmatt7 I didn’t get one last year, but there are official KU sanctioned autograph men’s (and women’s) basketballs you can buy. I’m not sure where you get them online (used to be kustore.com; it’s changed), but you could pick them up at the allen field house gift shop.

    You can, and the proceeds actually end up going to charity. Minus a small 10% markup on the cost of the ball.