As everyone knows by now, the NCAA took a big step Wednesday when its Board of Governors moved   forward in changing rules that could allow college athletes to be compensated for their name, image and likeness. It will ultimately allow athletes to receive compensation for third-party endorsements both related to and separate from athletics.

In other words, they will support a star player, like Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, receiving compensation if he chooses to endorse a business or promote an event. It also supports compensation for other student-athlete opportunities, such as social media, businesses they have started and personal appearances within the guiding principles originally outlined by the board in October.

The board’s recommendations will move to the rules-making structure in each of the NCAA’s three divisions for further consideration. The divisions are expected to adopt new name, image and likeness rules by January to take effect at the start of the 2021-22 academic year.

So, what will all this mean for star athletes like Trevor Lawrence in the future? From a social media standpoint, alone, the Clemson quarterback would stand to make a half-million dollars if the rule change were to go into effect this coming year.

According to an article by Yahoo Sports, Lawrence has close to 600,000 followers on Instagram and Twitter combined – 500,000 of that coming from Instagram. Yahoo spoke with Blake Lawrence, the CEO and co-founder of Opendorse, a company that helps athletes maximize their value on social media platforms.

Blake Lawrence says Trevor Lawrence can make as much $16,000 on an Instagram post and $1,100 with a Twitter post. The social media expert said Trevor Lawrence could make even more money if he had a YouTube Channel.

“The fair-market value is going to be tied back to the audience size and engagement on content you do publish,” Blake Lawrence told Yahoo. “Student athletes today are coming into college with significant followings.”

Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford said he is in favor of what the NCAA is doing, but what Blake Lawrence is speaking about above is some of the concerns he has with it, as the NCAA tries to set some parameters.

“I think it is fundamentally the right move, at this given point in time, as we modernize college athletics and try to put our student athletes in a place where they can be successful across the board and in their various endeavors,” Swofford said on The Drive with Josh Graham Wednesday afternoon. “So, I do think it is the right move.

“I also think, right on top of that, is that it is a very complex issue in the parameters that will need to go around this. It is going to be a challenge to manage it for our campuses and for college athletics because it creates situations that could be of a negative nature from a recruiting standpoint and from an agent involvement standpoint. So, it is not a simple step forward, it is a complex one, but I think it is the right one.”

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