After Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a new bill Monday evening supporting competitive college sports in the state, the Texan athletes will soon be able to receive compensation from outside businesses who wanted to use their name and image.

Big Step for Athletes

At least 15 states across the U.S. have passed bills lifting the ban on allowing student-athletes to be paid by outside parties. The state of California was the first state to approve the support in 2019.

Texas senator Brandon Creighton shared that he sponsored the bill to keep their collegiate athletic programs competitive just like other states. Several states in the U.S. also passed similar legislation as their way to show their support in the field of sports, especially athletes.

Based on NCAA rules, athletes were banned from receiving any kind of compensation aside from the scholarship given to them by the academic institution for playing college sports.

According to Texas Tribune, the law signed by Abbott would not change the ban on direct payments by a college or university. But it would allow college student-athletes to receive payments from other parties.

The Texas House and Senate favored the passing of the bill, but some lawmakers expressed their concerns regarding its negative effect on sports. The lawmakers mentioned that instead of getting payments, sports should be played for the love of the game. But bill supporters said that athletes deserve to benefit from the industry in which they play a major role.

In addition, another Texas senator, José Menéndez, mentioned on the Senate floor in April that the biggest winner in the bill is the student-athletes. He also pointed out that the fans gain entertainment, universities gain revenue, and college athletes who play a major role in their events deserve it because of their hard work, Click2Houston reported.

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Ongoing Division I Discussion

Meanwhile, the Board of Governors of NCAA had voted to allow players to be paid for their name or likeness in October 2019. However, the Division I Council postponed a vote on specific rules in January because of their ongoing discussion with the federal government regarding the rules.

Recently, federal lawmakers have rushed to pass a federal bill that would provide national guidance on the issue before five state bills across the U.S. go into effect on July 1. Currently, students who accept money for their stature as college athletes could lose eligibility to play in the NCAA, KSAT reported.

The recently signed law by Governor Abbott will take effect on July 1 after receiving two-thirds of the vote in each chamber.

On the other hand, under the legislation, college athletes would also be allowed to hire an agent to represent them. College athletes will be required to take a financial literacy workshop during their first and third years. Also, student-athletes would be barred from entering into contracts with particular industries, including alcohol, tobacco products, a firearm the student-athlete can't legally purchase, a "sexually oriented" business, and casino gambling.

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