USC football: What new NCAA compensation rules could mean for the Trojans

USC football players would benefit greatly from the NCAA allowing compensation for name, image and likeness.

A new era of college football is on the horizon, and USC football players will be impacted greatly by it.

On Wednesday, the NCAA Board of Governors put their support behind a proposal to allow student-athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness. That means players could be compensated for endorsements, social media influencing and more.

Needless to say, it was a gargantuan, and inevitable, step for the NCAA.

PODCAST: Recapping USC’s 2020 NFL Draft showing

The proposal is still in the early stages, but a vote on the NIL rights issue is likely to come in January 2021, according to CBS Sports.

What does that mean for USC football players specifically? They’re one step closer to cashing in in a big way.

Calculating the potential profit opportunity for an individual player depends on a lot of factors, so it’s far from an exact science. However, Bloomberg has some tentative numbers to consider:

• A player with 1,000-20,000 followers on social media could draw in between $20,000-$40,000
• A player with 25,000-50,000 followers could net $40,000-$80,000
• A player with 300,000-500,000 followers could command $300,000-$600,000
• A player with 1 million+ followers could bring in $750,000-$1.25 million

Bloomberg gave examples for each category, from a Power 5 starter to a household name like Trevor Lawrence to a bonafide superstar like Zion Williamson.

USC doesn’t necessarily have anyone in those latter two categories, but the shifting landscape would incentivize players to take advantage of their public image in bigger ways.

RELATED: USC’s most popular players on Twitter

For example, Kedon Slovis has just over 6,500 followers on Twitter and 20,500 on Instagram. That’s a strong following that could put him in the $40,000-$80,000 range, but Slovis’ profile could rise exponentially over the coming years. That’s not just because he is expected to keep throwing touchdown passes, but because he could actively promote himself in a bid to draw in more endorsements.

At least one Trojan is already set up perfectly to do just that.

Isaac Taylor-Stuart, the redshirt sophomore cornerback who will vie for a starting job in 2020, already has the most Twitter followers among USC players with 17,300. He also has a Youtube Channel (which is currently unmonetized but could be easily transitioned) with 26,000 subscribers. On Instagram, Taylor-Stuart has 32,700 followers.

Taylor-Stuart has taken an active role in promoting himself as a college football personality, advising high school prospects on how to get a D1 offer, how to make gains in the weight room and more. As a result, he has built a strong social media following without even crossing into “household name” territory on the football field (which he still could accomplish). He is set up to be compensated handsomely because of it.

As NLI legislation comes to pass, more and more players will follow ITS’ lead.