NCAA proposes rule to let schools, athletes enter NIL deals - ESPN

NCAA president Charlie Baker proposed rule changes Tuesday that would allow Division I schools for the first time to pay their athletes in ways that are not tied to educational resources.

Baker shared the proposed changes in a letter sent to member schools. If Division I schools choose to adopt the rules, they would be allowed to enter into name, image and likeness deals directly with their athletes. The new rules would also create a trust fund for athletes at the richest tier of athletic departments and allow each of those schools to create its own set of rules for recruiting, transfers, roster size and a wide range of other policies.

"[It] is time for us — the NCAA — to offer our own forward-looking framework," Baker said. «This framework must sustain the best elements of the student-athlete experience for all student-athletes, build on the financial and organizational investments that have positively changed the trajectory of women's sports, and enhance the athletic and academic experience for student-athletes who attend the highest resourced colleges and universities.»

The policy would bring a major change to the foundational tenet of the NCAA's long-held business model that prevented schools from providing any non-academic-based compensation to athletes. Baker's letter said the change is necessary during a time when the revenue generated by top colleges is poised to grow significantly and the legal pressure to compensate athletes continues to mount.

He wrote that the new policy would help gender equity by demanding that schools provide equal NIL investments for their men's and women's teams. The proposed new model would require schools in the top tier to set aside at least $30,000 per year for at least half of their