Name, IMage, and LIkeness

The NCAA, sports apparel and merchandise companies and media conglomerates earn billions of dollars in sports-related revenue each year, yet claim to operate in the name of so-called “amateurism.”  While college athletic programs often help students gain a college education, they too often extract economic gains from athletes while denying those young men and women a real chance to complete their degrees or otherwise share in the bounty created by the athletes’ own blood, sweat, and tears.  

When you become a student-athlete, you sign away your likeness to the NCAA. If you ever make any money off of your identity, you are stripped of your eligibility. Yet, the NCAA can rake in billions off of your image if they want.  This is absurd and unfair to thousands of athletes who struggle to afford books, food, or rent. 

Fans want the best for their teams' players. For student-athletes, that starts with giving them back rights over their own image and likeness. College athletics provide outstanding educational opportunities to students, but that should not come at the sacrifice of their personal identity. 

Recently, due to public pressure, the NCAA is starting to loosen up on those regulations. However, this is voluntary and can be changed at any time. Sports Fans Coalition calls on lawmakers in the states and at the federal level to protect college athletes’ rights in the statute.