Georgia Governor Brian Kemp has signed an executive order allowing the state’s colleges and universities to compensate student-athletes for their name, image, and likeness (NIL) rights. This bold action bypasses existing NCAA rules that prevent schools from directly paying athletes for NIL,

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order that effectively allows state colleges and universities to directly pay student-athletes.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order Tuesday prohibiting the NCAA from taking “adverse action” against an institution for compensating an athlete for NIL. The order is immediately effective and will remain in effect until a federal law is enacted regulating the rights of athletes or the effective date of the House v.

The governor argued that his order would help compensate athletes while waiting for news on a proposed settlement in a lawsuit that could permit direct payments.

Starting next season, Tennessee will impose a 10% surcharge on season and single-game tickets to raise money to directly compensate athletes.