It seemed that was exactly what they were worried about. This was the heart of what student-athletes had filed lawsuits about in the past. There was a lot of money being made by the NCAA’s member institutions. If the student-athletes ever cracked the door open on receiving compensation, it would be a slippery slope until they were paid what they were worth. Let’s face it, college football and basketball were both big businesses.
I had a problem with how the big shoe companies made deals with each school. You had to wear their gear with logos. Why shouldn’t a student-athlete be compensated for being a walking billboard?
“Why don’t we work out a deal where David agrees to allow you to use his image and name for college football and baseball? In exchange, you give him a waiver to do his movies and modeling,” Mr. Morris floated.
“I have concerns about what his modeling activities might entail. It’s my understanding that he’s right now the face for Range Sports, an athletic equipment company. I would be apprehensive about him doing ads and or commercials involving any type of football- or baseball-related gear. It would more than likely violate agreements with our existing sponsors,” Jim Phelps, the AD for the University of Michigan, said.
“An exception could be added to the waiver to exclude any conflicts. They would need to be spelled out for us to be comfortable,” Mr. Morris added.
“I would like David to consider using his celebrity to help with public service announcements. It would be good if he would also become involved in our Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. I think he would bring a unique perspective to our institution,” Andy Hill, the chair of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, said.
“Any public service announcements would have to be approved by David and his team. David would also have to see how his class loads are before he could commit to joining a committee,” Mr. Morris said to advocate for me.
“I would also like for David to agree to assist us with legislative matters,” Lesley Sanchez, the chair of the Legislative Relief Committee, said.
“That’s a loaded request. Do you want David to be your poster boy supporting NCAA attempts to do something in Congress to get more exemptions?” Mr. Morris asked.
Lesley smiled and nodded.
“I guess that is the thrust of our proposal,” she admitted.
“I think we need to take a break and discuss what you’ve suggested. Can we get back together in an hour?” Mr. Morris asked.
“I think that would be a good idea. If you’d like, I can take you to the executive dining room, and you can have lunch,” President Ellison suggested.
I could eat. We were given ninety minutes to return.
◊◊◊
We ordered lunch, and I voiced my biggest concern.
“I’m not sure I want to carry water for them to get more concessions out of Congress. Frankly, I believe student-athletes deserve to be compensated.”
“What about PSAs and volunteering to be on a committee?” Ms. Dixon asked.
“That fits as part of my charitable work. I would be willing to do some PSAs as long as they made sense. I’m not sure what committees they’re talking about and what value I would bring,” I said.
“Do you have a problem with them using your name and image?” Mr. Morris asked.
“If that’s the price I have to pay to play ball, I’m fine with it. I’ll admit, I think we could fight to get them to back off on modeling and acting, including Range Sports,” I said.
“We could, but I recommend that you not fight that if you don’t have to. What you must realize is the NCAA is a huge bureaucracy, and if they decide to come after you, they will. They think nothing of spending money on lawsuits, and I imagine they might drag their feet until you ran out of eligibility,” Mr. Morris said.
“So, don’t rock the boat. Okay. I’m sure Range Sports will survive without me, once I start college,” I said.
“I promise to get you a huge Nike deal once you graduate,” Tom said to ease the sting.
◊◊◊
Mr. Morris negotiated an agreement with the NCAA. It included the amateurism clearance I needed and a waiver for acting and modeling, including the promotion of movies I acted in. It also included wording about not being able to work for a company who sold either football or baseball gear, even if the ads were not related to either sport. That would, of course, preclude my work with Range Sports
In exchange, I agreed to grant the NCAA, my future school, and their conference the rights to my name and image while I was an eligible athlete in college. But those rights were limited; they applied only insofar as they directly related to football and/or baseball. I stressed, for example, that anything related to my modeling or the movies I acted in, as well as any commercials, were off-limits to them. I didn’t commit to PSAs, committee membership, or being the poster boy for the NCAA. To appease them, we agreed that I would be open to considering requests from the NCAA in each area. To me, ‘considering’ something didn’t mean I had to say yes.
