Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
AP-NORC Poll: 66% Favor Endorsement Money for NCAA Athletes
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
January 6, 2020

Share

As the NCAA grapples with how to provide athletes opportunities to be compensated for their fame, about two-thirds of Americans support college players being permitted to earn money for endorsements.

That’s according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Support for the NCAA allowing college athletes to cash in on their names, images and likenesses is especially high among young adults, as well as black Americans and Hispanics, though majorities of white Americans and older adults are also in favor.
NCAA officials and college sports leaders broadly agree, too.
“The opinions of the public in general are very important because they are reflected in the attitudes of universities, who are the ones that actually make the rules,” NCAA President Mark Emmert told AP.
How to make this work within the current framework of college athletics while also guarding against corruption in recruiting is what they are trying to sort out.
“That’s the challenge that we have,” Atlantic Coast Commissioner John Swofford said.
The NCAA board of governors voted in October to permit athletes to benefit from their names, images and likenesses, and directed its 1,100 member schools to have legislation ready for implementation by January 2021.
The vote came a month after California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into a law a bill that would make it illegal for colleges in the state to penalize athletes for taking money for endorsements.

The NCAA Has Turned to Federal Legislators for Help

That law is scheduled to go into effect in 2023, but it sparked a flurry of activity in other states to adopt similar legislation. Lawmakers in at least 20 other states have said they want to pass similar bills — some with the goal of having laws in place later this year.
“You can’t have multiple state regulations and compete for the same championships nationally and within the same rules nationally,” Swofford said.
The NCAA has turned to federal legislators for help. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah have started a congressional working group to examine college athlete compensation and related issues. Emmert met with them last month in Washington and has said he believes federal legislation that sets national parameters for what is permissible compensation for athletes seems likely.
“I started talking about the inequities in college sports almost a year ago, and now we’re on the cusp of significant reforms with bipartisan backing that put college athletes’ rights front and center,” Murphy said in a statement to the AP. “This kind of strong public support will continue to spark much needed change, and it’s clear the groundswell of support for athletes is growing.”
Emmert and other college sports leaders say they are concerned about allowing college athletes to enter the free market with no restrictions on how and by whom they can be paid for endorsements.
But, Emmert told AP, public opinion has helped drive home the need for change.
“We do, indeed, need to make this work with students playing students. Not having an employee-based model. Not blowing up what’s so good about college sports right now,” Emmert told AP. “The concern about the large, strong public opinion voice like this is that in a federal or state legislative process — and I believe we’re seeing this in the state legislative process — it can overwhelm the need for a thoughtful approach.”

52% of Americans Believe College Athletes Should Receive a Cut of the Millions of Dollars the NCAA

Public opinion seems to be with Emmert on not turning college athletes into professionals.

The poll did find 52% of Americans believe college athletes should receive a cut of the millions of dollars the NCAA, conferences and schools make annually from media rights deals involving football and basketball.
Compared with broad support for college athletes receiving endorsement money, only 38% said colleges and universities with major athletic programs should give athletes a salary.
The poll did find 52% of Americans believe college athletes should receive a cut of the millions of dollars the NCAA, conferences and schools make annually from media rights deals involving football and basketball.
For example, the latest NCAA’s contract extension with CBS and Turner pays $8.8 billion over eight years for the rights to broadcast the men’s basketball tournament.
Forty-six percent also said athletes participating in major athletic programs should be provided additional spending money.
Athletes already receive a stipend that covers the true cost of attending college, an amount determined by federal guidelines. Those stipends vary by school and generally fall between $2,000-$5,000 per year.
Asked for their opinion of the NCAA, most Americans were ambivalent. Only 14% said they held a favorable opinion of the association and its hundreds of schools competing in three divisions of sports. But only 17% said they held an unfavorable opinion of the NCAA.
Another 21% expressed neither a favorable nor unfavorable opinion of the NCAA, and 47% said they did not know enough to say.

DON'T MISS

From Blue Cheese to Bacon: Peanut Butter Pairings That Will Shock You

DON'T MISS

Challengers Seek Seats on Tulare County Irrigation District Boards

DON'T MISS

Shy Pup Finds Hope with Foster Family, Evasion from Euthanasia

DON'T MISS

Does Dill Have Magical Powers? What People Once Believed Food Could Do

DON'T MISS

Let’s Keep Innovative Partnerships Crucial to Combating Climate Change: Fresno Dairy Manager

DON'T MISS

Immediate Threat: Mussel Invades California’s Delta, First Time in North America

DON'T MISS

Two-Time Cy Young Winner Blake Snell Opts Out of Contract with Giants

DON'T MISS

No Matter the Outcome, We Are the True Losers of This Election

DON'T MISS

Russia’s Swift March Forward in Ukraine’s East

DON'T MISS

Rapper Young Thug Is a Free Man. Here Are Things to Know About His Plea.

UP NEXT

Seahawks Aim to Reignite Ground Game Against Rams After Recent Struggles

UP NEXT

Where Have the Top Transfers in College Basketball Landed?

UP NEXT

49ers Seek to Shake off the Super Bowl Hangover in the Second Half of the Season

UP NEXT

Dodgers Celebrate World Series Win, Look to Repeat With Ohtani’s Return to Pitching in 2025

UP NEXT

Bulldogs’ DB Cam Lockridge Is Ballin’ Out, Has Sights Set On NFL

UP NEXT

Rams Brace for Reunion With Former Star LB Ernest Jones as Seahawks Matchup Looms

UP NEXT

Cavaliers Blow Out Lakers as Bronny James Scores First NBA Points

UP NEXT

Yankees Star Shines and Stumbles in World Series Loss

UP NEXT

World Series: Freddie Freeman Wins MVP Award After Tying Record With 12 RBIs

UP NEXT

Los Angeles Sees Bus Burned, Store Thefts and Rowdy Crowds After Dodgers Win World Series

Does Dill Have Magical Powers? What People Once Believed Food Could Do

10 hours ago

Let’s Keep Innovative Partnerships Crucial to Combating Climate Change: Fresno Dairy Manager

11 hours ago

Immediate Threat: Mussel Invades California’s Delta, First Time in North America

23 hours ago

Two-Time Cy Young Winner Blake Snell Opts Out of Contract with Giants

23 hours ago

No Matter the Outcome, We Are the True Losers of This Election

23 hours ago

Russia’s Swift March Forward in Ukraine’s East

23 hours ago

Rapper Young Thug Is a Free Man. Here Are Things to Know About His Plea.

24 hours ago

AMOR Wellness Trunk-or-Treat Brings 700 Mendota Residents Together for Halloween Fun

24 hours ago

What Kind of Trouble Is Miguel Arias Trying to Stir Up This Time?

24 hours ago

MrBeast Probe Ends With Some Employees Fired but Finds No Proof of Sexual Misconduct Allegations

1 day ago

From Blue Cheese to Bacon: Peanut Butter Pairings That Will Shock You

Peanut butter is a childhood staple for many in the United States. Whether it’s a classic PB&J sandwich, a fluffernutter, cookies ...

9 hours ago

9 hours ago

From Blue Cheese to Bacon: Peanut Butter Pairings That Will Shock You

9 hours ago

Challengers Seek Seats on Tulare County Irrigation District Boards

9 hours ago

Shy Pup Finds Hope with Foster Family, Evasion from Euthanasia

10 hours ago

Does Dill Have Magical Powers? What People Once Believed Food Could Do

11 hours ago

Let’s Keep Innovative Partnerships Crucial to Combating Climate Change: Fresno Dairy Manager

23 hours ago

Immediate Threat: Mussel Invades California’s Delta, First Time in North America

23 hours ago

Two-Time Cy Young Winner Blake Snell Opts Out of Contract with Giants

23 hours ago

No Matter the Outcome, We Are the True Losers of This Election

Search

Send this to a friend