A Friday court filing has revealed the anticipated terms of the NCAA’s massive antitrust lawsuits settlement.
The new details outline how past athletes will share $2.78 billion in damages, a new system for revenue sharing, and new roster limits for multiple college sports, and other items.
The judge is expected to review the proposed settlement terms for the next several weeks and decide whether to accept them on a preliminary basis over the next 1-2 months.
Impacted athletes will then have a chance to review the terms. The judge will then make a final ruling on whether to accept the settlement. That decision is not expected until late 2024 or early 2025, with payments to begin later in 2025.
“This is another important step in the ongoing effort to provide increased benefits to student-athletes while creating a stable and sustainable model for the future of college sports,” the NCAA and its power conferences said in a statement Friday evening. “While there is still much work to be done in the settlement approval process, this is a significant step toward establishing clarity for the future of all of Division I athletics while maintaining a lasting education-based model for college sports, ensuring the opportunity for student-athletes to earn a degree and the tools necessary to be successful in life after sports.”
Here is an overview of the proposed settlement terms filed in court Friday:
- Any Division I athlete who played a sport from 2016 to present day is eligible for past damages, which are expected to be determined by a formula that pays more to higher profile athletes.
- Football and men’s basketball players from power conference schools will be eligible to receive an average of $135,000
- The highest damages payments in this category will exceed $1 million, with the highest estimated to be $1.859 million
- Women’s basketball players from power conference schools could receive an average of $35,000.
- For the first time, schools will be permitted to directly pay athletes. Each school could share up to 22% of the revenue that power conference schools generate from media rights, ticket sales and sponsorships. The total expected to be available for payout to athletes is expected to be between $20 and $22 million per school.
- The $20-22 million figure is expected to grow by around 50% by end of settlement’s 10-year term.
- These revenue sharing payments when combined other benefits (tuition, stipends, etc.) athletes already receive will result in many schools sharing with athletes close to half of the revenue they generate.
- Schools will be left to decide how to allocate revenue to athletes, and Title IX will be a factor.
- Athletes would still be able to make money from NIL deals with third parties. The settlement spells out that compensation for such deals must be “at rates and terms commensurate with compensation paid to similarly situated individuals.” With the intention of eliminating sham deals, all third-party NIL deals of $600 or more must be approved by a clearinghouse that will vet contracts.
- The NCAA agreed to remove limits on the number of scholarships a school can provide to athletes. Instead, there are new overall roster size limits, including:
- Football – 105
- Men’s basketball – 15
- Schools will be left to determine how many scholarships to award under roster size limits.
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