Fair Pay to Play: Positive or negative for the future of Winthrop athletics?

Many student athletes are unable to balance working a job with intensive team training schedules. If the “Fair Pay to Play Act” is passed nationwide, Winthrop University’s athletes could profit off their sports careers as early as 2023.

According to a press release by CA.gov, California Governor, Gavin Newsome signed the “Fair Pay to Play” act into law on September 30, allowing student athletes in the state of California to receive fair compensation for the use of their image.

This law opposes rules previously enforced on amateur athletes by the NCAA.

Softball player and sophomore, Mackenzie Peters, is one of many Winthrop athletes who could profit if a similar act is adopted by the state of South Carolina. According to a census by College Factual, Winthrop University competes in 14 sports and has a total of 277 student athletes.

“We spend 20 hours a week with our coaches on the field at this time in the semester,” Peters said. “In my personal case, as I’m trying to graduate early, I tend to take a minimum of 15 credits in a semester so there is barely any time for me to have a job between softball, class, homework and team functions.”

The California law has been met with positive and negative attention. NCAA’s spokesperson, Stacey Osborn released a statement on September 30, stating, “it is clear that a patchwork of different laws from different states will make unattainable the goal of providing a fair and level playing field for 1,100 campuses and nearly half a million student-athletes nationwide.”

The decision will look different nationwide as states decide if athletes should be able to profit from their name or a salary.

Profit from Name

Athletes like Mackenzie Peters are currently subject to strict rules when it comes to making money from their name.

“The NCAA prohibits athletes from such opportunities as selling their own merchandise, accepting sponsorships or using their own athletic name to offer sports lessons, although there are just a few exceptions when it comes to offering private instruction,” said Shea Maple, Director of Athletic Partnership and Giving at Winthrop. “The Fair Pay to Play Act, SB 206, will allow college student athletes of California schools to profit off their name, image and likeness.”

Winthrop’s new Esports team provides an example of what this could look like for other athletic programs on campus. The team is not sanctioned by the NCAA, though it is a part of the athletic department.

With lack of amateur athletic sanctioning, Esports players are allowed to keep the money they win from tournaments.

“They earned it,” said Josh Sides, coach of the Esports team. “They put in the work, and winning a tournament takes a lot of discipline and time. We also have a small athletic staff so it is easy to cover our overhead.”

In addition to prize money, players can receive endorsements.

“The unique nature of Esports allows us to do some creative things from a corporate sponsorship perspective.” said Maple. “For example with Esports, we may solicit sponsors to have their logo on displayed on the team jersey, a benefit that we can’t offer a business interested in sponsorship opportunities with our other sports and venues.”

New branding opportunities can also create additional challenges for athletes sanctioned by the NCAA.

“Very few NCAA athletes succeed professionally in their sports, and allowing the opportunity to benefit from college success while they have the opportunity seems fair,” said Trent Kull, Winthrop’s Faculty Athletic Representative. “But it’s also challenging for a student-athlete to find enough time in their schedule to properly prepare for the demands of academics and athletics simultaneously, so adding to that the additional demands of essentially running a business from their brand worries me somewhat with regards to further overloading.”

Profit from Salary

According to National Public Radio, the Fair Pay to Play Act does not force colleges to pay their students a salary, but it does give players the ability to hire an agent and negotiate during the recruitment process.

Currently, students can only receive money from a university in the form of a scholarship.

“There are no extra compensations for a student beyond any athletic or academic scholarships that the student might have,” said Maple. “Singling out a student-athlete or offering additional benefits to only a portion of a team would violate NCAA rules.”

As a student athlete, Peters provides a different perspective on the issue.

“Personally, I would rather the university cover my tuition in full, rather than paying me to play for the school,” said Peters. “Of course, anyone would love to be paid as an athlete, but the amount of money I’d get while in school to play would most likely drive me to spend that money rather than save.”

Garrison Roy, coach with Tread Athletics and former Winston Salem State pitcher said, “With a salary, there will be a lot of hurt players out there when they find out how little they will get paid. I think they should have the option to have the pay go towards their schooling if any remains that they haven’t already taken care of.”

The Future of College Sports

South Carolina has yet to make a decision regarding the Fair Pay to Play Act, but Winthrop’s Athletic department anticipates change.

“While the economics of collegiate athletics may look differently in the future, participation from a student-athlete as well as the fan perspective will undoubtedly remain strong,” said Maple. “Participation by student fans at our home events helps create an atmosphere around college athletics that makes it second to none. We are all excited about what the future holds.”

Peters wakes up for track workouts and weightlifting before dawn multiple days a week for a sport she loves, regardless of compensation. “Quite frankly money can take a lot away from the game,” she said. “When you involve money into sports, especially at high amounts, it dwindles the value of the sport.”