This has been a long time coming. Before yesterday, student athletes weren’t allowed to be compensated. They couldn’t get paid for their workouts or anything, they put in all those hours running and lifting weights to represent their school on the field, and it’s like they’re working for free. They weren’t even allowed to be on a Wheaties box.

This is a new beginning.

Now that they can use images of real athletes as long as they “fairly” compensate them, EA Sports programmers are rushing to churn out a new NCAA College NFL Football Jr. video game. If they work 24 hours and don’t eat or pee, they can take NCAA ’11, just add new player skins, and have it released in time for Halloween.

College coaches and athletic directors pulled an all-nighter to prepare compensation packages using all of the resources at their disposal. Here are likely packages for student athletes at top schools.

USC, aka the University of Southern California aka SC aka Southern Cal, is crafting a really awesome package for football players! The premium version for 5-star recruits includes a mansion, a cool $2 mil, and a USC branded sports car with one of those doors that opens at the top.

Wake Forest men’s basketball players could get this delicious basket of fruit.

All athletes who graduate from Harvard get this really sick Harvard diploma to hang in their offices at their new jobs.

Women student athletes who graduate from any university get a cool invitation to the LinkedIn Group for female athletes.

We can’t wait to see what this new compensation program will do for athletes!