The NCAA is in discussions to establish a legal settlement that would share revenue with athletes, following the case of House v. NCAA set to go to court in January 2025. If the plaintiffs win, the NCAA and schools could be liable for over $4 billion in damages. Industry leaders have been pursuing a settlement to avoid such a large payout.
Last week, power conference commissioners, general counsels, NCAA President Charlie Baker, NCAA lawyers, and plaintiffs’ attorneys met in Dallas to discuss the framework for sharing revenue with athletes. While no immediate deal has been reached, details of a multibillion-dollar settlement may soon be shared with campuses. However, there are still obstacles and objections at the campus level.
The settlement is expected to involve billions in back pay for former athletes and may require the NCAA and conferences to agree on a system for sharing more revenue with players going forward. The top-end revenue share per school is anticipated to be around $20 million annually, although this figure has yet to be finalized.
The idea of revenue sharing stemmed from the SEC-Big Ten joint advisory group announced in February that consists of university presidents/chancellors and athletic directors who aim to address the issue of compensating college athletes for their contributions to the multi-billion-dollar college sports industry.
