Alex Rodriguez sees ‘slippery slope’ in amateur athletes profiting off of their names

November 13, 2021 at 11:26 AM·3 min read

Connecticut point guard Paige Bueckers, named the most outstanding player in women's college basketball last season, made headlines this week after signing a multi-year endorsement deal with StockX, an online footwear and apparel platform.

The deal was made possible by an NCAA rule change this year that allows college athletes to profit off of their name, image, and likeness (NIL). The new rule drew cheers from prominent professional athletes like Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James and Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green.

But former Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez says he isn't sure he supports the rule. In a new interview, Rodriguez cautioned about the complexities of determining which players get paid and the implications for future changes, but he said he hasn't made up his mind on the issue.

"This is a tough one for me," says Rodriguez, who became part owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves in May. "It's a little bit of a slippery slope."

"I do think there will be some incredible challenges," he adds. "How do you differentiate from your top tier [or] second tier to the guys and women that are on the bench? How do you differentiate from football to volleyball?"

An NCAA rule change, which took effect at the beginning of July, permits college athletes to benefit from their name, image, and likeness.

The measure came roughly 18 months after California adopted the first state-level law allowing college athletes to sign such deals, and arrived days after a unanimous Supreme Court ruling that rejected restrictions on education-related benefits for college athletes.

After the rule change, a flood of endorsements from local businesses and national brands immediately poured in for top college athletes, including a $2 million endorsement deal for freshman basketball player Hercy Miller, the son of hip-hop artist Master P.

The new policy could enable more than $1.5 billion in total earnings for NCAA athletes in 2021, according to Opendorse, a technology firm that brings together athletes and potential business partners, Yahoo Finance reported in August.

Rodriguez, who retired from baseball in 2016, leads A-Rod Corp., an investment firm with stakes in real estate and venture capital.

UConn sophomore Paige Bueckers, left, has over 916,000 followers on Instagram, 341,000 on TikTok and another 59,000 on Twitter, making her one of the most followed athletes, male or female, in American college sports. (Brad Horrigan/Hartford Courant/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) (Hartford Courant via Getty Images)

Recently, he launched a venture capital fund called Vision/Capital/People and became a part-owner of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves and the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx. Those projects emerged from a partnership with e-commerce billionaire Marc Lore.

Speaking to Yahoo Finance, Rodriguez noted that NIL endorsements for college athletes remain a new phenomenon.

"I'm watching, I'm curious," he says. "I think there's not enough information or data out there really for me to make a decision on it. I'm certainly watching closely."

"I have some apprehensions but I'm certainly like you, just watching. This is the early days, and let's see what happens."

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