Order allows Ga. schools to pay players for NIL
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Dan Murphy
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Dan Murphy
ESPN Staff Writer
- Covers the Big Ten
- Joined ESPN.com in 2014
- Graduate of the University of Notre Dame
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Mark Schlabach
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Mark Schlabach
ESPN Senior Writer
- Senior college football writer
- Author of seven books on college football
- Graduate of the University of Georgia
Schools in Georgia have legal cover to immediately begin paying their athletes directly, according to an executive order signed by the state’s governor Tuesday morning.
Gov. Brian Kemp signed an order that prohibits the NCAA or athletic conferences from punishing any university or college in Georgia for “offering compensation, or compensating an intercollegiate student-athlete for the use of such student-athlete’s NIL.”
NCAA rules currently prohibit schools from directly paying athletes for the rights to use their name, image and likeness. The association agreed to drop its restriction on schools paying for NIL deals as part of a pending antitrust settlement, but that agreement has not been finalized. If the settlement is approved in its current form, those new rules are expected to go into effect at the start of the next academic year. The order in Georgia is effective immediately.
The Georgia order is similar to a law passed in July by the Virginia Legislature, which gave schools in that state the protection to directly pay their athletes via NIL deals without facing NCAA penalties.
Athletic directors at Virginia and Virginia Tech declined to share any plans for paying athletes directly at the time the bill was signed and have not made any public announcements about taking advantage of the ability to pay players since the law went into effect July 1.
Sources told ESPN that neither Georgia nor Georgia Tech — the two power conference schools in the state — have plans to start paying their players immediately. Instead, the executive order gives them the option to pay players if other schools around the country start to do so.
“We extend our sincere gratitude to Governor Brian Kemp for his leadership today,” Georgia athletic director Josh Brooks and Georgia Tech athletic director J Batt said in a shared statement to ESPN on Tuesday. “In the absence of nationwide name, image and likeness regulation, this executive order helps our institutions with the necessary tools to fully support our student-athletes in their pursuit of NIL opportunities, remain competitive with our peers and secure the long-term success of our athletics programs.”
The NCAA did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
Other states have considered legislation to help their schools facilitate payment to players. Missouri, for example, has a law that allows schools to direct money to a third party, which in turn pays athletes to appear in marketing material for the school.
The pending antitrust settlement, if approved, would also cap the amount of money that U.S. schools can give directly to athletes. The cap is expected to be slightly higher than $20 million in its first year and increase annually.
Under their current laws, schools in Virginia and Georgia could start paying athletes immediately without any limit on the amount of money they provide. If they do so, the NCAA will have to challenge the new executive order in court if it wants to stop them.
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Kristen Shilton
The Vancouver Canucks have come to terms with forward Brock Boeser on a new seven-year contract, carrying a $7.25 million AAV.
Canucks GM Patrik Allvin announced the deal on Tuesday during the first hour of NHL free agency. Boeser, 28, was an unrestricted free agent on a previously expiring contract.
Drafted by Vancouver 23rd overall in the 2015 NHL draft, Boeser has collected 204 goals and 434 points in 554 games with the Canucks to date. A top-six scoring threat, Boeser has elite playmaking skills and the potential to produce big numbers offensively. He had his best year offensively in 2023-24, producing 40 goals and 73 points in 81 games.
Boeser didn’t hit those marks again last season — settling for 25 goals and 50 points in 75 games — but was still second amongst teammates in output. He also plays a prominent role on Vancouver’s power play and when he can generate opportunities at 5-on-5, he is a true difference-maker up front for the Canucks.
The extension is a happy ending for Vancouver and Boeser. When the regular season ended, Boeser admitted “it’s tough to say” whether he’d be back with the Canucks. Boeser reportedly turned down a previous five-year extension offer with the club and Allvin subsequently looked into deals for him at the March trade deadline, with no takers. Boeser looked — and sounded — poised to explore his options on the open market.
Ultimately, Boeser decided to stay put by committing the best years of his career to the Canucks.
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Ryan S. Clark
Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary signed a seven-year extension through the 2032-33 season that is worth $6 million annually, the team announced Tuesday.
Fehervary, who had one year of team control remaining, will enter the final season of a three-year bridge deal that will see him make $2.675 million before his new contract begins at the start of the 2026-27 season.
He finished the season with five goals and a career-high 25 points while logging 19 minutes. Fehervary also played a crucial role in the Capitals’ penalty kill by finishing with 245 short-handed minutes for a penalty kill that was fifth in the NHL with an 82% success rate.
Securing the 25-year-old Fehervary to a long-term deal means the Capitals now have seven players who have more than three years remaining on their current contracts.
It also means the Capitals front office has one less decision to make ahead of what is expected to be an active offseason in 2026 that will see the club have what PuckPedia projects to be $39.25 million in cap space.
That’s also the same offseason in which captain and NHL all-time leading goal scorer Alex Ovechkin‘s contract will come off their books along with that of defenseman John Carlson.
But until then, the Capitals have their entire top-six defensive unit under contract as they seek to improve upon a 2024-25 season that saw them finish atop the Metropolitan Division with 111 points before they lost in the Eastern Conference semifinal to the Carolina Hurricanes in five games.
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