‘Time to stick out your neck,’ college CEO tells schools on contract that regulates paying players

OXON HILL, Md. (AP) 鈥� The head of the new regulatory body for college sports said 鈥渋f there was a time to stick out your neck, it’s now,鈥� in urging schools to sign an agreement pledging to abide by new rules that govern how to pay players.

Bryan Seeley, the CEO of the 7-month-old College Sports Commission, used his presentation at the NCAA convention Wednesday to thank leaders from four schools who put out a statement backing the agreement, while urging others to sign on.

鈥淢y sense is that the vast majority of schools want to sign this. but I suspect if a school wants this, you鈥檙e thinking, 鈥榃hy am I going to stick my neck out?’鈥� if other schools won鈥檛 also sign, Seeley said. 鈥淚f there was a time to stick out your neck, it’s now.”

In late November, the CSC sent Division I schools its 鈥淯niversity Participation Agreement,鈥� an 11-page document that all 68 schools from the four largest conferences need to sign for it to go into effect. It outlines the CSC’s role in monitoring how schools pay out the $20.5 million they’re allowed to spend on players’ name, image and likeness and also looks at how the CSC regulates

But the most contentious part of the agreement was language that forbid schools from suing the agency.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called the agreement a 鈥減ower grab鈥� in directing that state’s schools not to sign. Other state AGs followed suit.

On Tuesday, school presidents at Arizona, Washington, Virginia Tech and Georgia urging their colleagues to sign on.

鈥淪tability is not created by new rules alone, but by a willingness to live by them,鈥� the statement said.

Seeley latched onto that with a plea of his own.

鈥淚’m not of the belief that college sports is fundamentally broken and the sky is falling. but there are definitely problems,鈥� he told a room full of college sports administrators. 鈥淣o one from the outside is coming to fix those problems. We鈥檒l either collectively come together to fix those problems or they won鈥檛 be fixed.鈥�

Seeley said the CSC is talking to the conferences about tweaking some of the language 鈥� 鈥渇air feedback,鈥� he called it 鈥� while cautioning that other proposed changes 鈥渨ould water the document down such that it has no enforcement … and would make it meaningless.鈥�

Debate over the consequences of all 68 schools not signing the agreement has run the gamut, from those who believe the CSC could enforce its rules anyway to others who think it would eventually shutter the entire system.

Seeley gave a nod to proposals, , that could add muscle to many of the CSC’s functions.

鈥淏ut we don鈥檛 know when that help is coming, and in the interim, we should be working hard collectively to try to fix some (of the issues). One way to do that is to sign this participatory agreement,” he said.

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