GREENSBORO, N.C. — As of this morning every NCAA athlete is allowed to money from their name, image, and likeness after a decades long battle between the NCAA and former athletes.
Since the creation of the NCAA in 1906, students athletes have not been able to attach their name, signature, or their image to a product for their own benefit.
That is until today. I spoke with Todd McFall a Wake Forest economics professor and avid college fan about what this will mean for the future of college athletics.
"This is a great day because civil rights have been recognized in the United States. And what this means for college athletes in that sense is that they will be able to take those marketable skills that they have and go out and figure out what they're worth, in turns of commercial opportunities"
This means athletes now have the opportunity to be apart of local and national marketing campaigns and they won't be declared ineligible if they profit financially.
However the average college athlete won't become a millionaire like this, but a little profit is always better than none.
"I would guess that you're going to see a lot of rank and file athletes. People who aren't household names be able to go out and do simple things like meet fans and do autograph signings and put a little money in their pocket."
We here at WFMY want to make it very clear that Todd does not speak for Wake Forest University or Wake Forest Athletic Department. He's an economist that can help us understand what all this means in laymen's terms.