As a Californian, nothing this legislature does surprises me. But I will give them credit for making the effective date so far out that the NCAA has time to either fight it or find a compromise. At least the NCAA has to do something now.
Lots of the focus is obviously on the big money makers in football and basketball. But I wonder about a sport like baseball. Will some kids who passed up college to grab the money after high school now consider committing three years to college? How much money could Kumar Rocker make in the next two years as a college baseball pitcher after that CWS performance? Would similar stud HS pitchers opt for college over a couple of years of minor league baseball and long bus rides? College baseball could be even better with more players choosing college.
As for the "lesser" sports, I'm not sure how much money would really be out there for a star volleyball player or track and field pole vaulter to profit from. Some of the ridiculous NCAA rules about not being able to put together a volleyball team calendar to raise money might actually be eliminated.
Maybe some good and common sense will come out of it. Clearly, reading about the shoe scandal in NCAA basketball shows the current system is not working.