Framing Student-Athlete Compensation: A Thematic Analysis of California Senate Bill 206

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has controlled intercollegiate sports for the past 150 years, but the passing of California Senate Bill 206 on September 30, 2019, placed that power at risk. The bill will allow student-athletes to receive compensation for their name, image and likeness in the state of California, and has influenced other states to bring forth legislation of their own. The NCAA announced on October 29, 2019, that it would change its policies and bylaws to allow student-athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness. This qualitative thematic analysis seeks to discover how the issue of student-athletes in the case of SB 206 was framed by the media before and after the bill was passed, and after the NCAA announced its policy change. From the analysis, three themes emerged to support student-athlete compensation, eight themes emerged in opposition, and 24 sub themes emerged for both sides. Anti-compensation framing strategies prevailed throughout news coverage before and after SB 206 passed, and after the NCAA changed its policy. Local and mainstream news outlets and sports and mainstream news outlets all presented the eight themes.