In 2010, Reggie Bush relinquished his Heisman Trophy and the NCAA made USC dissociate from Reggie Bush (this ended in 2020). This came after a few years of an investigation that was looking into Reggie Bush accepting gifts as a student-athlete. At the time the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) did not allow for athletes to receive payments. Fast forward to 14 years later. After a few cases and a lot of discussions, athletes can now be compensated for their name, image, and likeness (NIL).
Players around the country are capitalizing on their popularity through brand deals and endorsements. For context, as of February, Bronny James was estimated the highest-paid college athlete at $5.8 million. In comparison, the minimum salary in the NBA is currently around 1.1 million. This means that some college athletes are compensated better than some professional athletes.
This week, the NCAA reinstated Reggie Bush's Heisman trophy. This is the NCAA righting a wrong that has been years in the making. For the last few years, players have been receiving compensation and there was growing sentiment that Reggie Bush should be reinstated since the very thing he was punished for became legal. Now, players receive all sorts of compensation. There is even a new NCAA football game coming out which will also be compensating players and have their names, images, and likenesses featured. It is reported that players will each be paid $600 and given a copy of the game.
Reggie Bush is one of the most prolific college football players of all time. To some, he's the greatest football player of all time. Being officially reinstated back into the Heisman circle is something that should be celebrated.