🏅 Everything you need to know about the House Settlement

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Hey there,

The House settlement has finally arrived. This edition of NIL Wire will tell you everything you need to know about the landmark settlement. It’s probably the most important edition we’ve ever given you – so buckle up.

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KICK-OFF

🚨 House Settlement Filed 🚨 

At last, the House settlement – which has dominated our coverage for the past few months – has been filed with the court. The agreement will completely reshape how college sports operate – from new NIL policies to revenue-sharing, the entire system is about to turn upside down.

Here are a few quick hits from the settlement: Schools will be able to share about $23M of their total revenue with their players. That will be a “salary cap” of sorts, which will increase by 4% as revenue grows over the next ten years.

There’s also a massive damages bill that needs to get paid – $2.78 billion, in fact, which will be distributed to student-athletes who played DI sports from 2016 through the present. Power conference football and basketball players are expected to receive an average payout of $135,000. (More)

Roster Size & Scholarship Changes are on the Way

Another major change to come from the House settlement deal is the elimination of scholarship limits. Previously, sports like football capped the number of players who could receive scholarships at 85, but now the entire team can be on scholarship.

Here’s the kicker, though: Per the new rules, football teams can only contain 105 players now. That’s a fifteen-player shrink from the previous limit of 120. In short, there will be more scholarships to go around, but fewer roster spots to fill.

This change affects more than just football: Nearly every sport is seeing their roster limits shrink – from Baseball to volleyball. (More)

When Are These Changes Happening?

Great question. The technical answer is that the damages payments will begin forty-five days after the settlement is finalized. Since we don’t know exactly when that will happen, May 15^th is the other date that’s been given – basically, that’s the latest the damages payments can be received. 

After that May 15^th payment, the payment date will transition to July 15^th every year for the next ten years. Those payments will end after ten years – closing out a decade of damages payments in the early-mid 2030s.  

The changes to roster limits and scholarships will take effect in the 2025-26 school year, meaning this upcoming academic year is the last one under the current rules. (More)

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DOWN TO BUSINESS

So… Student-Athlete Employment?

One thing that this settlement isn’t solving is the issue of employment. The House decision may seem like a massive step towards the “professionalization” of college sports, but for now, it’s the pay structure that’s changing.

That’s not to say massive changes aren’t in store, though. Earlier this month, we saw an important decision made in Pennsylvania, which argued athletes should receive hourly pay just as work-study programs do. And that’s not even mentioning other challenges to amateurism like the Dartmouth basketball union, the USC case, and the myriad of other lawsuits on the NCAA’s hands.

If I were to guess, employment status is probably coming, although it’s hard to predict how that might fit into the new House settlement system. (More)

• It’s far shy of the $135K that football and basketball players are getting, but Steve Berman said women’s basketball players could receive $35K on average in damages payments.

COLLECTIVE 101

What About Collectives?

Until now, NIL collectives have provided a way for boosters to funnel their money directly to their school’s players – in essence, fan fundraising would become NIL “salaries”. It seems like the NCAA doesn’t want that happening anymore now within the new rev-share model.

Part of the settlement deal involves creating a “robust and effective oversight program” that will ensure that collective payments stem from “legitimate NIL activity.” That plan also includes establishing a database of NIL deals, wherein they can determine if a deal is a truly “NIL” and not just a salary payment.

All that’s to ensure that the Rev-share “salary cap” is actually enforced. If one school is paying players tens of millions of dollars on the side, they’re essentially circumventing the salary cap to create a competitive advantage. (More)

• The Collective Association is raising dues to increase its lobbying power in D.C. With the aforementioned changes coming, it will be interesting to see precisely what changes they’ll lobby for.  

ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT

Azzi Fudd

• School: UCONN

• Position: Guard

• Sport: Basketball

• Class: Redshirt Junior 

• Accolades: 

  • 2022 NCAA Tournament Bridgeport All-Region Team

  • 2022 BIG EAST All-Freshman Team

  • Three-time Gatorade Washington, D.C. Player of the Year

• NIL: Azzi has partnered with Curry Brand and appeared in commercials for big names like American Eagle Outfitters, TikTok, BioSteel, and Chipotle.

NIL BLITZ

♦️ Nebraska defensive end wants fans to “sack” their old water heaters

♦️ Judge denies Houston Christian’s attempt to dislodge themselves from the House Settlement

♦️ Lincoln Riley says that USC’s NIL “continues to get better and better”

♦️ Purdue’s head football coach values experience and talent retention over youth

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Today’s Poll Question:

Last Edition’s Poll Results:

What was the best summer Olympics in recent memory?

• Athens (2004) - 17%

• Beijing (2008) - 24%

• London (2012) - 19%

• Rio (2016) - 22%

• Tokyo (2021) - 18%