Heisman hopeful suspended indefinitely for NCAA violation

The doors to an invite to the Heisman Trophy presentation may have closed on one of college football's best running backs, who was an early favorite to be nominated for college football's top award.

Georgia running back Todd Gurley has been suspended indefinitely pending an investigation into alleged improper payments for use of likeness, autograph and memorabilia signage, an NCAA violation.

Todd Gurley is being investigated for an NCAA violation

 An ESPN story cited a source within the autograph industry as saying that Gurley had sought between $8 and $25 per signature. The story also reports that James Spence Authentication, an autograph authentication company provided certificates of authenticity for more than 250 signed jerseys belonging to Gurley.

Current NCAA rules prohibit players, considered amateur student athletes, from profiting or earning money by virtue of their position on teams. Scholarship student athletes earn a stipend or Per Diem, in addition to a full or partial scholarship to earn an education. Players are allowed to earn supplemental income by working jobs in which they actually document and prove hours worked.

Star players like Reggie Bush, whose 2005 Heisman Trophy was stripped from him after it was discovered he had received benefits while playing at USC, and former NBA forward and Michigan Wolverine Chris Webber, are just two of many college players who have been investigated and sometimes proven to have received illegal benefits during their playing days.

A growing number of athletes and sports media analysts are calling for a change in the NCAA's policies that will allow players benefit more from the billion-dollar college sports industry, driven by the blood, sweat and tears of the athletes. While colleges and universities earn millions of dollars from the success of athletic programs, primarily football and basketball teams, players make little to nothing in what some have termed a slave-master relationship reminiscent of the slave trade period.

One argument the NCAA makes is that the students are compensated through a full scholarship to earn a college degree, but there have been more than enough examples of college programs graduating very few athletes particularly on football and basketball teams.

A number of athletes have joined to sue the NCAA's licensing division and game manufacturers, as well as media broadcasters including ESPN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, among others, for improper use of their likenesses without compensation.

It's too soon to tell what the outcome of the investigation on Gurley would be, but Gurley can look to the investigation involving another Heisman Trophy winner for optimism. In 2011, Auburn quarterback Cam Newton was investigated and cleared of any violation regarding his recruitment to play at Auburn.

It's possible that Gurley could return to the field this season, but with each game he misses, he makes less case for a nomination. What appears more certain is that this case is bound to impact his draft status. Meanwhile the University of Georgia and NCAA will continue making money of the sale of his jerseys.