New Mexico considers fair-pay rules for college athletes

A Republican state senator wants New Mexico to allow college athletes to receive paid endorsements.

Senator and former University of New Mexico football player Mark Moores of Albuquerque announced Thursday that he will be sponsoring a bill to legalize student endorsement deals.

The proposal would follow in the footsteps of California’s first-in-the-nation law aimed at allowing players share in the wealth of big-money college athletics.

The NCAA oversight organization for college athletics prohibits players from hiring agents and does not pay players in most cases. The organization is studying other ways players might make money.

Moores says student athletes deserve the opportunity to enjoy the financial fruits of their labor.

He said his bill would ensure student athletes are not barred from participation for promoting products and companies for payment.

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AP Only 2019