Times continue to change with what we thought we knew about college football and a big bit of that got cemented this week.
After what seems like an eternity with delays and more, Judge Claudia Wilken approved the NCAA’s $2.78 billion House Settlement on Friday. If you need a refresher on what that is, it all revolves around schools being able to pay players directly with revenue sharing beginning on July 1. It’s not a blank check, though, schools will have the ability to pay up to 22% of the average revenue, though that’s a cap and not a mandate.
Things can get rather complex with this because of Name, Image and Likeness being a part of it as well, but according to On3, in Year One, schools will be operating with an estimated $20.5 million salary cap with the bulk of that ($13 to $16 million) being allocated for football. With NIL, any deal over $600 must be approved by an NIL Clearinghouse run by Deloitte.
Got that? Good, because we’re still trying to figure it all out too. Come to think of it, we’ll probably just focus mainly on what happens on the field.
What does the NCAA settlement mean for college sports? We answer the burning questions https://t.co/TsVpElAX7Q
— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) June 7, 2025
Meanwhile, the $2.78 billion approved will go to former college athletes to settle a myriad of antitrust lawsuits against the NCAA. That money will come from the NCAA’s reserves and a holdback of revenue payouts over the next ten years. Details on how to distribute and who the money goes to aren’t immediately available.
This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: Judge approves NCAA House settlement that paves way to revenue sharing