A Win Win: College Athletes Get Paid for Their Names, Images, and Likenesses and Colleges Maintain the Primacy of Academics

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Fair Pay to Play Act (SB 206) into law on September 30, 2019. The bill made it illegal for California\u27s universities to prohibit college athletes from receiving compensation for use of their Names, Images, and Likenesses ( NILs ). Lawmakers soon introduced similar bills in other states1 and in Congress. In this Article, we explain the history and role of amateurism in college athletics (Part I); the legal landscape of amateurism and paying college athletes, including NIL payments (Part II); the potential scope of NIL payments (Part III); and the NCAA NIL Committee’s recommendations (Part IV). We conclude by offering a public policy proposal for implementing circumscribed NIL rights for college athletes (Part V)