Major League Baseball

Bigger than (amateur) baseball? NCAA says Mo'ne Davis can get paid

Published Oct. 23, 2014 3:33 a.m. ET

foxsports

In case you thought Mo'ne Davis' impact on sports would end when the world forgot about the Little League World Series, guess again.

Now she's saving amateur sports in the United States.

OK, that may be a bit of an overstatement, but truth be told, the 13-year-old just did something that many before have tried and failed, and even now, despite a federal judge's recent favorable ruling still likely faces hurdles before becoming reality:

She's making money off her likeness and retaining her amateur eligibility to compete in the NCAA. You know, in five or six years.

During Tuesday night's telecast of Game 1 of the World Series on FOX, Davis, the flame-throwing righty who made history with her Philadelphia teammates at the LLWS in Williamsport, Pa., this past summer, appeared in a Chevrolet ad during a commercial break.

Shortly after the spot, which was directed by Spike Lee, speculation on social media took off as to whether the spot would cost Davis her amateur status long before her potential NCAA career had a chance to begin. (She has said in the past her dream is to play basketball at the University of Connecticut.)

Well, the NCAA — that proactive, ahead-of-the-times trailblazer — issued a statement shortly after the ad aired:

"Since January, NCAA Division 1 membership gave staff more flexibility to consider unique circumstances when determining eligibility. The NCAA staff’s decision was made within this process and based on a combination of considerations. This waiver narrowly extends the rules — which allow Davis to accept the payment and still be eligible in any other sport — to include baseball. The NCAA staff also considered the historically limited opportunities for women to participate in professional baseball. In addition, Davis is much younger than when the vast majority of the prospect rules apply. While this situation is unusual, the flexible approach utilized in this decision is not."

NCAA spokeswoman Emily James then expanded on the organization's stance in a statement, according to ESPN's Darren Rovell.

"Mo'ne Davis may be paid for appearing in the Chevy commercial without impacting her NCAA eligibility ... The NCAA staff's decision was made within this process and based on a combination of considerations."

The biggest consideration is that NCAA eligibility doesn't begin until ninth grade, so Davis was safe to strike while the iron was hot, said Lee, who appeared on Mike Francesa's WFAN show this week. He added that all of Davis' ad money would be going into a trust fund.

What will Davis do next? World peace? A win for the Raiders?

H/t: ESPN