Lawmakers and Gov. Polis agreed they must allow the payments, but there was significant debate about whether those payments should be secret.
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Gov. Jared Polis signed legislation that will allow universities to pay athletes directly for their name, image and likeness rights, but he added a signing statement asking the legislature to eventually revisit the secrecy around specific payment amounts.
“I have concerns about the bill’s new Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) exception regarding student-athlete contracts,” wrote Polis. “While the bill’s exception is narrowly tailored, it follows an unfortunate trend of legislative proposals that ultimately impede access to official records that are arguably within the public’s interest to view. These exceptions move transparency in the wrong direction and any other proposals that further prevent or delay public access to information will be carefully reviewed.”
