NCAA Breaks With Tradition, Says It Will Allow Some Student Athletes To Profit

In a startling shift for the NCAA, which has been rocked by lawsuits and athlete strikes in recent years, the college athletics agency has decided to allow student-athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness, CNBC reports.

Though it stops short of offering salaries to all athletes, particularly those for top-tier programs that bring in hundreds of millions in broadcast revenues, this still represents a break with decades of precedent.

The association said the change would help “provide the best possible experience for college athletes, and that it represents an “extension of the numerous steps NCAA members have taken to improve support for student athletes.”

“We must embrace change to provide the best possible experience for college athletes,” Board of Governors chairman and president of Ohio State University Michael V. Drake said in a statement. “Additional flexibility in this area can and must continue to support college sports as a part of higher education. This modernization for the future is a natural extension of the numerous steps NCAA members have taken in recent years to improve support for student-athletes, including full cost of attendance and guaranteed scholarships.”

This is a developing story…