With the landmark House v. NCAA settlement tentatively set for a final approval hearing on April 7, the NCAA has released guidelines as to how it expects funds to be disbursed by member schools.
If the settlement is approved as expected, it will allow for the payment of both back pay to former student-athletes who competed prior to NIL rule changes and payment to current student-athletes. The back pay will consist of $2.78 billion and will be divided among Power Five schools, with non-football/basketball athletes eligible for about 5% of the funds.
As for payments to current student-athletes, under the terms of the settlement, a revenue-sharing model will be created that will result in payments made over the course of ten years. Schools and athletes will be given the option of paying 22% of their annual revenue (an average of about $23 million per Power Five school) directly to student-athletes, thus making college athletics analogous to professional sports. However, a school can elect to share any percentage of its athletic revenues as long as the total payout does not exceed $20.5 million annually. Schools can make the decision as to which student-athletes, if any, receive NIL payments.
In addition, under the settlement, the NCAA’s enforcement authority over…
