U.S. Rep., Ex-Ohio State WR Anthony Gonzalez Proposing 'Fair Pay to Play' Law

Former Ohio State wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez, who currently serves in the United States House of Representatives, is set to introduce federal legislation that would allow college athletes to earn money through endorsement deals.

Per ESPN's Dan Murphy, Gonzalez believes a federal law will be in the best interest of student-athletes and help alleviate the NCAA's concerns over California's "Fair Pay to Play" Act:

"There are a lot of people who are trying to get a piece of the athlete who do not have their best interest in mind and are out for nefarious means. You can imagine a world where, if there were no guardrails in place, that it could get out of hand pretty quickly. That's the lane you're trying to carve. How do you do this to provide necessary and deserved benefits while not inviting a bigger problem alongside it?"

California Governor Gavin Newsom signed California Senate Bill 206, also known as the Fair Pay to Play Act, Monday. The law will allow college athletes to profit off of their names, images and likenesses. 

The NCAA issued an immediate response to Newsom's decision by acknowledging "changes are needed to continue to support student-athletes, but improvement needs to happen on a national level through the NCAA's rules-making process."

Murphy noted Gonzalez has had "informal conversations" with Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith, who the NCAA named co-chair of a group formed in May to examine and potentially modify rules for student-athletes to use their name and likeness rights. 

No specific date has been given for Gonzalez's proposal, but he told Murphy he will wait until after Smith and the NCAA make their recommendation. 

California's Fair Pay to Play Act will go into effect in Jan. 2023.