College Conferences Releases Statement On Historic $2.78 Billion NCAA Settlement
Oct 7, 2024, 4:48 PM
SALT LAKE CITY – With a federal judge granting preliminary approval on the NCAA’s $2.78 billion NIL settlement, the Big 12 and other college conferences put out a joint statement.
The conferences painted the approval as a step in the right direction for a “more stable and sustainable system for college athletics.”
A statement regarding today’s preliminary approval of settlement. pic.twitter.com/Rt1wUfwPSF
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) October 7, 2024
“The preliminary approval granted today by Judge Wilken is another step in providing increased benefits to student-athletes while maintaining an enduring education-based model for college sports. We will continue planning for implementation of the terms of the settlement in anticipation of moving toward a more stable and sustainable system for all of college athletics,” the statement read.
Name, image, and likeness changed the landscape of college athletics in 2022. Many student-athletes who played in the years leading up to the change felt that they should be compensated for their time in the NCAA.
The settlement aims to resolve three major antitrust lawsuits against the NCAA that threaten $20 billion in damages. The settlement includes drastic changes to the NCAA’s amateur sports model, including allowing schools to share revenue with their athletes.
The settlement also provides an opportunity for the NCAA to manage NIL going forward. Most people agree that the current state of paying collegiate athletes is problematic and hard to regulate. Ironically, figuring out how to move forward is the easier part of this settlement.
A thread on the NCAA’s settlement in the House case.
The settlement – negotiated by plaintiffs seeking back-NIL pay and NCAA/power leagues – has 3 main parts:
1) $2.8B in back-pay to former athletes
2) $20B+ in rev-share to future athletes
3) New roster rules & enforcement arm— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) October 7, 2024
About $2.8 billion in back damages will be paid to student-athletes who played from 2016 to 2021.
But it isn’t as simple as giving each player who played in that timeframe the same amount. No school or player generates the same amount of revenue so it’s on the NCAA to determine the split.
The process is far from simple and straightforward. The amount of money paid to student-athletes could be divided by conference, school, and sport. But, there are many other factors that may leave student-athletes feeling shortchanged.
