Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) has signed a law that will bring college athletes closer to becoming de facto employees of the universities where they attend.

The Virginia legislation will grant colleges the chance to pay athletes directly through name, image, and likeness deals, undercutting the NCAA’s rule on colleges paying athletes directly via NIL guidelines. Normally, NIL deals are between athletes and local/national businesses, though many universities have NIL “collectives” that help athletes find opportunities.

Collectives straddle the line of whether the colleges pay the athletes directly, though colleges act more like agents in those deals. However, Youngkin’s law presents a unique opportunity for athletes at major schools, such as the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and James Madison, to cut out middlemen between universities and athletes.

“If this law gets us closer to a federal or a national solution for college athletics then it will be more than worthwhile,” UVA athletic director Carla Williams told ESPN. “Until then, we have an obligation to ensure we maintain an elite athletics program at UVA.”

The new law explicitly states that it would not consider college athletes employees of their schools. Williams said it was “maybe a distinction without a difference, but there’s a distinction there.” The law will only allow pay for marketing campaigns but not for performance.

Virginia Tech athletic director Whit Babcock praised the law, saying it is “absolutely a step in the right direction for the commonwealth of Virginia and the country in my opinion.”

Babcock added that the law puts Virginia schools in a good position for both the current status of NIL deals as well as other forms of payment “that we think we see around the corner.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Some schools int the state, such as Liberty University, may still adhere to the NCAA’s guidelines.

Famed college football coach Nick Saban previously expressed his fears at a Capitol Hill roundtable about NIL that college athletes could become employees. He stated that his wife said that players do not care about Saban developing them, but “how much you’re going to pay them.”