Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is standing up for college athletes in his state. Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Florida becomes first state to allow college athletes to sign paid endorsement deals

By Erin Walsh | Last updated 6/12/20

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Friday that will help college athletes in the state make money from their name, image and likeness beginning in July 2021.

The new bill makes Florida the third state with such a law in place, joining California and Colorado. However, Florida's law will go into effect 18 months earlier than the other two states.

BREAKING: Florida @GovRonDeSantis is signing the college athlete name, image & likeness bill.

Effective July 1, 2021, college athletes in Florida can sign paid endorsement deals. FL jumps CA as 1st state to give athletes these rights. Honored to have been part of this effort.
— Darren Heitner (@DarrenHeitner) June 12, 2020

College athletes getting paid for their services has been a worthy argument for a long time, and the NCAA finally supports the proposal to allow college athletes to sign endorsement deals and receive payment for their work after some of the best basketball recruits in the country declared for the NBA's G League instead of attending college.

A formal proposal for the new rules is set to be submitted to the NCAA board no later than October, and it will then vote on the proposal some time before January 2021.

The announcement from the NCAA spurred discussions about the iconic video game "NCAA Football" making a comeback since players can now sign deals, but nothing on that front has materialized.

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