Last week, the St. Louis Rams made Todd Gurley their first-round pick. This week, the star running back had a bill named in his honor signed into law.
Gurley, who went 10th overall in the draft, was the impetus behind what is known as the "Todd Gurley bill" in Georgia; the bill, which was signed into law Thursday by Gov. Nathan Deal, makes it a crime punishable by up to a year in prison to entice student-athletes to break NCAA rules for money. In addition to the bill's name, it officially is "House Bill 3," so numbered because that was the jersey number worn by Gurley at Georgia.
Gurley was suspended for four games last season for accepting money -- reportedly around $400 -- for autographs.
State Rep. Barry Fleming, R-Harlem, who has both undergraduate and law degrees from Georgia, was the House sponsor for the bill, and he told The Associated Press that the law has two possible penalties -- one criminal, one civil. The perpetrator can end up in jail and a state university also can sue the perpetrator.
The Uniform Athlete Agent Act has been enacted in 40 states, and its goal is to prevent agents from providing any sort of gift that violates NCAA rules. Georgia is one of the states that already had enacted the law, though The AP points out that its structure and penalties vary from state to state.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
