New law could affect TCU’s future home-and-home series with California-based schools

TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati expressed concern over California’s Fair Pay to Play Act earlier this month. Now the bill has been signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

This law will have a significant effect on the college sports world and could directly affect TCU with future college football games scheduled with California schools.

The law wouldn’t go into effect until Jan. 1, 2023, so it wouldn’t have much of an effect on TCU’s home-and-home series with Cal in 2020 and 2021. But the Frogs are set for another home-and-home with Stanford in 2024 and 2027.

TCU will visit Stanford in 2024, and host the Cardinal in 2027.

Asked if the new law could affect those home-and-home series, Donati said: “Potentially.

“Naturally we would not want any of our teams competing with other schools who have artificial and unfair competitive advantages built into their laws that only apply to them.”

Newsom posted on Twitter this message about signing the bill, which has been endorsed by several superstar athletes such as LeBron James:

“Colleges reap billions from student athletes but block them from earning a single dollar. That’s a bankrupt model.

“I just signed the Fair Play to Pay Act with @KingJames — making CA the first state to allow student athletes to profit off their name, image, and likeness.”

The NCAA said it would continue to make adjustments to its rules that “are both realistic in modern society and tied to higher education.”

“We will consider next steps in California while our members move forward with ongoing efforts to make adjustments to NCAA name, image and likeness rules that are both realistic in modern society and tied to higher education,” the NCAA said in a statement. “As more states consider their own specific legislation related to this topic, it is clear that a patchwork of different laws from different states will make unattainable the goal of providing a fair and level playing field for 1,100 campuses and nearly half a million student-athletes nationwide.”

This story was originally published September 30, 2019 at 12:09 PM.