GREEN BAY (NBC 26) -- Community members are having mixed reactions about a new ruling from the NCAA. It allows college athletes the ability to make money off of their name and likeness.
According to our Facebook poll, the majority of people do not agree with the change.
However that was not exactly the case when we spoke to people downtown.
“I think they should just all get paid. They play just as hard as any pro,” said Phillip Fay from Green Bay.
The ruling came down on Tuesday, and part of what this means, for example, is that a college athlete would be able to make a profit off of a jersey that a school sells with their name on it.
“I think it's a good decision,” said Craig Marguardt of Green Bay. “It’s unfair let’s say for the college kids who run up and down the court, using their face, their likeness, their names.”
This new ruling will still not allow schools to directly pay athletes for playing on their teams. The decision on the ruling came after California passed a similar law.
“Whether you’re for or against it, I think once California made the ruling, it opened up the door for other states to follow,” said Andy DeMille of Green Bay. “Personally, it's a capitalistic world we live in, so I’m probably for it.”
The ruling does benefit all three NCAA divisions.
“I’m for neither right now,” said Cam Isaacson of Green Bay. “I think it would be good for the players to get some money, on the other hand, competition and fairness between the colleges is a touchy subject.”
The organization has laid out guidelines that each school will have to meet by January 2021, including putting the student before the athlete, and making sure to not interfere with the recruiting environment.
We did reach out to UW-Green Bay for comment, but have not heard back.
To read the full press release from the NCAA, click here. If you have additional questions, there are more answers in the Q&A portion of the NCAA release.
