CORAL GABLES, Fla. — College athletes in Florida will be able to make money for the use of their name, image, and likeness starting next year.
Speaking at the University of Miami in Coral Gables on Friday, Gov. Ron DeSantis said it's an "important thing" for college athletes to receive compensation.
"I viewed it as something that was a matter of fairness," DeSantis said.
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The governor said athletes can begin getting paid for the use of their likeness starting in July of 2021.
"We're not talking about, you get a scholarship to Florida State and Miami and the universities are gonna pay you to play. That's not what we're talking about," DeSantis said. "But if you have a situation where you have some of the great athletes, particularly in sports like football and basketball, whose name, image, and likeness is being used to make millions and millions of dollars, and they don't have the opportunity to get any of that, there's something fundamentally unfair for that."
DeSantis said the finer details need to be hashed out by the Florida Board of Governors, and athletes from all sports will have the opportunity to receive compensation for the use of their name, image, or likeness.
"If EA Sports wants to do NCAA Football and they're gonna have some of these guys who are great players, they're gonna use their name, image, and likeness, then there can be some compensation for that," DeSantis said.
The governor added the measure will help athletes from low-income backgrounds earn some extra money to afford the rising cost of education.
"If you're coming from a low-income background and you're able to get some extra financial assistance, that can make a huge difference in somebody being able to fulfill their education and athletics," DeSantis said.
Friday's news conference was held at the Carol Soffer Indoor Practice Facility at the University of Miami.
The facility, which opened in 2018, features several turf fields that the Miami Hurricanes football team practices on, along with coaches' offices.