College athletes can sometimes be stars. But the NCAA prevents those stars from profiting, even if their image is used to sell products.

Now, a bill has been introduced in the New York state legislature in Albany to change that.

"Economic equity for student athletes in the state of New York is well overdue to be addressed," said Democratic State Sen. Kevin Parker of Brooklyn. "My bill, I think, is the beginning of a conversation to get us to that place where we are taking care of these student athletes the best way we can."

New York is following the lead of California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed the first bill in the nation allowing college athletes to profit from their name, likeness, or image. Newsom drew praise from big-name athletes, including LeBron James.

"The only group that signs away their right…are athletes," the Democratic governor said in an episode of HBO Sports's The Shop.

Parker's bill already has an Assembly sponsor, and he says he's gotten a lot of interest from fellow lawmakers. Several other states are also considering similar legislation.

"The world has changed now. Primarily because of social media," said Lee McElroy, the athletic director at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in upstate New York. "You have these influencers, so things are going to change. How quickly they are going to change, I can't predict that, but it's going to be a different model than we have today."

Gov. Andrew Cuomo declined to weigh in on Parker's bill. "No. I have no position," Cuomo said.

The California law doesn't take effect until 2023, and that seems designed to give the NCAA some time to come up with its own plan for compensating college athletes. People familiar with the issue say what you don't want is each state coming with its own set of rules in a disjointed fashion — the same rules should apply to all college athletes nationwide.