NCAA Now Wants To Compensate Student-Athletes After Fighting It For Decades

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is proposing a new plan that would allow schools to finally compensate student-athletes directly

Now that many college athletes are being paid a substantial amount of money through name, image, likeness (NIL) deals, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is proposing a new plan that would allow the schools to finally compensate athletes directly after fighting to do so for many decades.

According to ESPN, the proposal was presented by NCAA President Charlie Baker in a letter to Division 1 schools on Dec. 5. Per the letter that was sent out, Baker wants to allow the schools themselves to be able to compensate their players and remove the cap on education-related money that the students can get.

“[This proposal] kick-starts a long-overdue conversation among the membership that focuses on the differences that exist between schools, conferences, and divisions and how to create more permissive and flexible rules across the NCAA that put student-athletes first,” he wrote in the letter. “Colleges and universities need to be more flexible, and the NCAA needs to be more flexible, too.”

NCAA president Charlie Baker sent a letter today to Division I members proposing a new tier of Division I membership for the highest-resourced schools.
Here are the highlights of enhanced benefits for athletes that would be allowed. pic.twitter.com/gK0eztHBe4

— Ralph D. Russo (@ralphDrussoAP) December 5, 2023

The proposal is expected to be presented at an upcoming convention in Phoenix next month when the NCAA stakeholders meet in January.

Baker, who has only been NCAA president since March, proposes that schools in the new, highest-paying subdivision would have to set aside a minimum amount of $30,000 per student-athlete for at least half of them yearly. That number is just a minimum, as the schools can set it as high as they feel a student should be compensated. Those students would not be required to finish and/or obtain a degree before receiving the funds.

There is also a suggestion that a subdivision within the most well-resourced schools in Division I can, if they want to, set their own rules to suit their needs as they see fit.

No timeline was provided for the proposals, but changes within the NCAA system typically take a year to implement.