Ever since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned rules barring college athletes from getting paid for the use of their image, states, including Virginia, have been working to develop rules to accommodate the change. Thursday morning Governor Glenn Youngkin signed a bill that would make such payments easier.

This story was reported and written by Radio IQ

“Had the NIL rules been in place I would not have had an NIL deal," Youngkin, a former college basketball player, joked.

He was talking about his own bench-warming skills in the face of a new law that would allow Virginia’s college athletes to financially benefit from their NIL, or name, image and likeness. It specifically allows the schools themselves to pay students for their NIL.

It’s a step Youngkin and Democratic Senator Aaron Rouse, a former Virginia Tech football star who went on to play for the Green Bay Packers, said would make the state’s college sports system more competitive while enabling students to focus on what’s important.

“This legislation allows students to focus on their education while not having to worry about financial burdens,” Rouse told Radio IQ.

Republican Delegate Terry Kilgore, who co-patroned the effort with Delegate Terry Austin, said other states and the NCAA were developing their own NIL rules which could put Virginia universities at a disadvantage when it comes to recruiting talent.

“We need to make sure we put our universities on solid footing, a solid foundation. I think this is really going to help,” Kilgore said.

The bill, which also bars the NCAA from punishing colleges for compensating athletes, goes into effect July 1st.

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