Gov. Jared Polis signed legislation that will allow universities to pay athletes directly for their name, image and likeness rights, but he added a signing statement asking the legislature to eventually revisit the secrecy around specific payment amounts.CU Boulder argued that making the payment amounts public could result in the harassment of high-profile athletes who […]
Gov. Jared Polis signed legislation that will allow universities to pay athletes directly for their name, image and likeness rights, but he added a signing statement asking the legislature to eventually revisit the secrecy around specific payment amounts.CU Boulder argued that making the payment amounts public could result in the harassment of high-profile athletes who have a bad game. The NCAA has long warned that with the rise of sports gambling and increased interest in college sports is already subjecting players to abuse. But Roberts said it was nonetheless encouraging that Polis recognizes the trend as something the legislature should revisit.The transparency concerns were bipartisan, but there were never the votes to change the law. Instead, CU Boulder agreed only to publish aggregate amounts by sport.Federal court settlements essentially forced state lawmakers to pass a bill allowing universities like CU Boulder to pay student-athletes for the use of their NIL rights. State law had prohibited the practice. For several years, athletes have been able to sign contracts with third parties like Nike.“It’s better than saying ‘Let’s keep closing things off,’ “ Roberts said with a laugh.Schools have never negotiated for athletes’ name, image and likeness rights, and proponents of transparency said that keeping payments secret would make it impossible to know, for instance, if the athletic director’s child gets a sweetheart NIL deal or if a Black football player were to be paid less than a similarly situated white player.Still, Polis’ statement lamenting the trend against government transparency was curious to Jeff Roberts, the executive director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition.“I have concerns about the bill’s new Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) exception regarding student-athlete contracts,” wrote Polis. “While the bill’s exception is narrowly tailored, it follows an unfortunate trend of legislative proposals that ultimately impede access to official records that are arguably within the public’s interest to view. These exceptions move transparency in the wrong direction and any other proposals that further prevent or delay public access to information will be carefully reviewed.”Polis, he noted, has signed a raft of measures that hide records, including the identities of people who applied for compensation when their property is destroyed by wildlife. And Polis has signed legislation exempting the legislature from open meetings laws.University officials also told lawmakers during bill hearings that Colorado schools would be at a disadvantage, as many states are keeping payments secret, and private universities aren’t subject to open records laws.Universities receive millions in annual revenue from media rights deals to broadcast games, and now the schools will have to share that revenue with the student-athletes. Lawmakers and Polis were in agreement that they must allow the payments, but there was significant debate about whether those payments should be secret.
