Historic NCAA Settlement Approved By All Conferences With A Wrinkle; College Athletics Headed Into New Era

The SEC and Pac 12 conferences were the last ones to the party when it came to voting on the NCAA settlement that will change the landscape of collegiate athletics, but the agreement has now been approved by all parties. For the first time, colleges will now be allowed to pay athletes for their participation in sports. 

On Thursday, the NCAA Board of Governors voted to enact the settlement that will see the organization put the House vs. NCAA case to bed, which will cost $2.77 billion in damages to be paid to plaintiffs. The money will be paid to athletes who were seeking retro-pay for lost income from NIL and television funds that weren't in place before the inception of NIL in 2021. 

The amount will be paid back over a 10-year period, while the settlement will also introduce a new form of payment for student athletes. 

In addition to the monetary settlement, the approval by all conferences and the board of governors will also pave the way for revenue sharing in collegiate athletics. The current model agreed upon would give schools the option to share upwards of $20 million with athletes at each institution. Now, it should be noted that schools do not have to participate, but some type of revenue sharing will most likely occur at each school across the country in some form. 

According to multiple sources with knowledge of the situation, the plan is to have the new revenue sharing model in-place before the start of the 2025 season, in the Fall. 

The monetary settlement agreed to by all the major conferences in college athletics, along with the NCAA, will help pay damages to plaintiffs who were involved in three different antitrust lawsuits against the NCAA. 

NASHVILLE - SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey speaks during SEC