Tim Tebow weighed in on whether college athletes should get paid and said he thinks there might be a way to find a “middle ground” on the issue.
“We don’t want to turn college football into the NFL,” the 32-year-old former NFL quarterback shared Wednesday during his appearance on “Fox and Friends,” according to Fox News. (RELATED: Here’s The Advice Tim Tebow Gave Tom Brady About Looking After Aaron Hernandez)
View this post on Instagram
“I try to see both sides,” the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner added. “I’d love to come to a middle ground where we can put together TV money and give them stipends and support them.”(RELATED: Tim Tebow Is Driving Up All-Star Ticket Prices. Is His MLB Debut Closer Than Ever?)
The former NFL QB said he worries paying college athletes is going to completely change the game.
“Here is one of the issues, I think, if you get to paying them for their name and likeness, is where does it stop,” Tebow asked. “Does it go to high school, does it go to Pop Warner? Are you continuing to have agents all in the game?”
“I want to be able to balance both of those,” he added. “I want to take care of the student-athlete, but I also want to be able to keep the authenticity of our game.”
The comments came in response to a recent law passed by California that says college athletes can earn a profit from their names, images and likenesses.
According to the Fox News report:
California’s law will go into effect in 2023 and does not apply to community colleges and bans athletes from accepting endorsement deals that conflict with their school’s existing contracts. The NCAA, Pac-12 and SEC have all spoken out against the law.
Last week, the professional baseball player appeared on EPSN’s “First Take” and talked about how he thought the new law could become a slippery slope.
WATCH:
“When I was at the University of Florida, I think my jersey was one of the top jerseys around the world … and I didn’t make a dollar from it, but nor did I want to,” Tebow shared. “Because I knew, going into college, what it was all about.”