House v. NCAA NIL settlement

[El-Jefe]

Big news today:


A LOT more at Dellenger's tweeter feed. This looks like far bigger news than even a $2.8B settlement.

Gut tells me the Power 5 Conferences' approvals is probably leveraging this as a power grab over the smaller conferences. (More likely than benevolent agreement.) Also, the schools are gonna need to find new revenue sources -- private capital coming?

@tikk10, your thoughts on all of this?

 

[Vic Vaselino]

I miss college football.

 

[tikk10]

Big news today:

View embedded media

A LOT more at Dellenger's tweeter feed. This looks like far bigger news than even a $2.8B settlement.

Gut tells me the Power 5 Conferences' approvals is probably leveraging this as a power grab over the smaller conferences. (More likely than benevolent agreement.) Also, the schools are gonna need to find new revenue sources -- private capital coming?

@tikk10, your thoughts on all of this?

I don't know enough about the inter-conference politics and balance sheets to assess the big picture stuff, but I do think the smaller conferences probably have a very good argument that the split is unfair to them. Yeah, it's a global settlement and there's really no practical way to allocate damages down to the athlete-by-athlete level, but I think if you made rough assessments about which conferences' athletes were resposible you'd arrive at something more top-heavy than this settlement did.

I think to some extent you can probably draw a correlative association between conference revenue and NIL violations needing remedies--economic activity apples to other economic activity apples--and start from there, but that doesn't look like what they did. Moreover, the smaller conferences and schools were stuck with a bill without ever having a seat at the negotiation table. Maybe it's because I don't know the entire litigation history, but seems to me that the NCAA, which did have a seat at the table, sold out its smaller schools.

 

[Pennstate1985]

I don't know enough about the inter-conference politics and balance sheets to assess the big picture stuff, but I do think the smaller conferences probably have a very good argument that the split is unfair to them. Yeah, it's a global settlement and there's really no practical way to allocate damages down to the athlete-by-athlete level, but I think if you made rough assessments about which conferences' athletes were resposible you'd arrive at something more top-heavy than this settlement did.

I think to some extent you can probably draw a correlative association between conference revenue and NIL violations needing remedies--economic activity apples to other economic activity apples--and start from there, but that doesn't look like what they did. Moreover, the smaller conferences and schools were stuck with a bill without ever having a seat at the negotiation table. Maybe it's because I don't know the entire litigation history, but seems to me that the NCAA, which did have a seat at the table, sold out its smaller schools.

That's shocking. How dare you?

 

[Rip_E_2_Joe_PA]

That's shocking. How dare you?

Look for some of the smaller conference schools with deep pocket alum to take this to court. Ho-hum, we have come to the point where money drives everything in this society. My question is: why is this even news? Rupert Murdoch, I am sure, has the answer to that question. The bigger question is how did those dummies at the National Star let the market get stolen by an Aussie. The answer: the FCC was paid off by Rupert Murdock. Which brings us back to Ho-hum.

BTW, how many individual players will be filing NIL law suits? Should there be a law suit board soon? Then there is Penn Not really Live. Talk about ho- hum. Have a great memorial day everyone!

 

[jmadden1998]

 

[Roar More]

Individual contracts coming soon. Instead of scholarship limits, there will be a limited number of contracts allowed. No NIL "walk-ons" permitted.

 

[jmadden1998]

From the article: “The NCAA will pay more than $2.7 billion in damages over 10 years to past and current athletes, according to sources. Sources said the parties also have agreed to a revenue-sharing plan allowing each school to share up to roughly $20 million per year with its athletes.”

 

[Sleepylion]

Individual contracts coming soon. Instead of scholarship limits, there will be a limited number of contracts allowed. No NIL "walk-ons" permitted.

How would that work? If I am a walk-on I would not have control of my own NIL? Can't work for a few dollars in the off-season? That is how we got into this to begin with.

 

[dicemen99]

From the article: “The NCAA will pay more than $2.7 billion in damages over 10 years to past and current athletes, according to sources. Sources said the parties also have agreed to a revenue-sharing plan allowing each school to share up to roughly $20 million per year with its athletes.”

The up to $20 million per year is concerning unless there is a cap for football. If there isn't, football will be angling for ALL of it and most likely get it.

 

[David Keller]

So much for Universities being about Education. I know, a different world than I grew up in. Still ...

 

[creamery freak]

The up to $20 million per year is concerning unless there is a cap for football. If there isn't, football will be angling for ALL of it and most likely get it.

20 million would have been a cap for several SEC schools 15 years ago.

 

[baccafarmer]

20 million would have been a cap for several SEC schools 15 years ago.

That $20mm schmutz won’t last long. Lawyers gonna lawyer.

 

[amattaro]

The up to $20 million per year is concerning unless there is a cap for football. If there isn't, football will be angling for ALL of it and most likely get it.

Title IX will probably have something to say about that.

 

[a_mshaffer]

So much for Universities being about Education. I know, a different world than I grew up in. Still ...

yep, higher tickets prices,, concessions, and more commercial timeouts. It's pretty bad now... so bad that they have entertainment (recognition awards) on the field during commercials....

 

[12bflying]

Can tuition, R&B, etc. be considered part of an athletes compensation?

 

[baccafarmer]

Can tuition, R&B, etc. be considered part of an athletes compensation?

Humm ….. check out what the youngins think of college education in today’s world. As in Japan, it’s considered a great time to relax, party and be cool. Except for a fortunate 10%, it’s not turning out to be a profitable proposition. Is tuition considered compensation for an athlete? Probably not because the value of a college education might have been great for you, but, the majority of kids (and a good number of employers) in todays world think it rather worthless.

 

[El-Jefe]

Can tuition, R&B, etc. be considered part of an athletes compensation?

It is for tax purposes.

 

[Hazy_Davey]

Humm ….. check out what the youngins think of college education in today’s world. As in Japan, it’s considered a great time to relax, party and be cool. Except for a fortunate 10%, it’s not turning out to be a profitable proposition. Is tuition considered compensation for an athlete? Probably not because the value of a college education might have been great for you, but, the majority of kids (and a good number of employers) in todays world think it rather worthless.

What? Now I do agree that not everyone needs a 4 year degree and there are a decent amount of kids going to school for useless degrees, but to say employers don't care about it is just wrong. Unless you go into the trades(which more people should do) most well paying careers still require a 4 year degree.

 

[jmadden1998]

https://athlonsports.com/college/ncaa-power-5-settle-class-action-cases-schools-pay-athletes-revenue-sharing-scholarships

Through the settlement, schools will be permitted to share up to 22% of average athletic department revenue, calculated by a formula that combines revenue from television contracts, ticket sales and sponsorships, according to Yahoo Sports. For the 69 Power 5 schools (plus Notre Dame), that comes out to an average of about $100 million per year, so the 22% mark is expected to come in at around $21-22 million per year, per school. Payments at this level are optional, though schools that elect to spend less on their rosters will likely be at a clear disadvantage in recruiting and roster building.

The deal includes escalators as revenue increases for schools, and the two main attorneys in the case against the NCAA, Steve Berman and Jeffrey Kessler, will remain active in ensuring that the payments stay in line with the decision.

 

[jmadden1998]

One of the less discussed but incredibly impactful results of this week’s news is the impact on college athletics rosters. The settlement is set to eliminate scholarship caps, a major development for non-revenue sports, which are currently capped at a specific number of scholarships, which can be divided up across a roster. In Division I baseball, for example, schools can divide 11.7 total scholarships across 32 players, while allotment for softball is 12 scholarships. Under the new rules, schools will be allowed to provide full scholarships for these sports, though they are still beholden to Title IX, which mandates equal scholarship opportunities for men and women.

 

[Ian]

PSU wrestling will become even more powerful with no scholarship limits…

 

[tikk10]

This is merely me speculating but I think the real significance of this settlement will be schools finding it easier to rationalize ditching non-revenue producing sports, pitting them against each other in a free market free-for-all. Donors will be called on to jump in and save 'their' sports. ADs will be forced to "make tough decisions."

Even if the fallout winds up being a net good for a wrestling program like Penn State's, which can show real revenue, this settlement as reported (a judge can send it back to the drawing board, though ancillary issues such as this one won't be considered) can't be good for wrestling as a college sport. For most schools wrestling is a revenue loser.

 

[Sleepylion]

Are the athletes going to be employees or "student-athletes"? I think the whole system is blowing up and the sport of it is becoming less interesting to me.

 

[El-Jefe]

This is merely me speculating but I think the real significance of this settlement will be schools finding it easier to rationalize ditching non-revenue producing sports, pitting them against each other in a free market free-for-all. Donors will be called on to jump in and save 'their' sports. ADs will be forced to "make tough decisions."

Even if the fallout winds up being a net good for a wrestling program like Penn State's, which can show real revenue, this settlement as reported (a judge can send it back to the drawing board, though ancillary issues such as this one won't be considered) can't be good for wrestling as a college sport. For most schools wrestling is a revenue loser.

This was my read on it too. We're probably going to see more instances like Stanford, where schools try to cut Olympic programs and maybe someone steps up to rescue. That may even become a tactic to find new money.

Additionally, I'd expect schools will allocate proportional to each sport's revenue (possibly after football gets its cut). In which case, coaches may be under immense pressure to generate revenue -- chase donors, put butts in seats, etc. Otherwise their athletes get smaller payments, and those teams become less attractive. And schools may or may not provide staff to help with this.

 

[hlstone]

This is merely me speculating but I think the real significance of this settlement will be schools finding it easier to rationalize ditching non-revenue producing sports, pitting them against each other in a free market free-for-all. Donors will be called on to jump in and save 'their' sports. ADs will be forced to "make tough decisions."

Even if the fallout winds up being a net good for a wrestling program like Penn State's, which can show real revenue, this settlement as reported (a judge can send it back to the drawing board, though ancillary issues such as this one won't be considered) can't be good for wrestling as a college sport. For most schools wrestling is a revenue loser.

I'm hoping the kid will graduate before the shit hits the fan. 4 more years. Go Cats!

 

[Ian]

$20m for 900 athletes. That’s an average of $22k per. Some will get more so the rest get less. They will have to move about 10-15 sports into club status like they do now with rugby. No way they can support 900 salaries with $20m so NIL with have to supplement.

 

[GogglesPaizano]

It's time for these poor kids to unionize, to address the obvious disparities this new model will create. A strike every few seasons is in order. ;-(

 

[Sleepylion]

It's time for these poor kids to unionize, to address the obvious disparities this new model will create. A strike every few seasons is in order. ;-(

They might get a strike from the paying fans.

 

[Nitlion1986]

They might get a strike from the paying fans.

Yep. Look at all the lost MLB, NFL or NBA fans to the multiple strikes.

Not much history to strike any fear into anybody about long term fan bitterness and lost attendance.

Before anybody posts, "well my father" or "I" examples of known lost fan examples remember micro examples do not make the macro history different.

 

[baccafarmer]

What? Now I do agree that not everyone needs a 4 year degree and there are a decent amount of kids going to school for useless degrees, but to say employers don't care about it is just wrong. Unless you go into the trades(which more people should do) most well paying careers still require a 4 year degree.

Your take is traditional and reflects long held opinions. Certainly for high tech, scientific, and engineering jobs a college degree still holds great value. Unfortunately, these needs represent well less than 25% of job openings in the U.S. I would add that an increasing number of well-paying jobs no longer require a college degree. Many employers are now prioritizing skills and experience over formal education credentials when hiring for higher-paying roles.
The tight labor market has led companies across various industries to adopt a more skills-based approach to hiring. On job sites like ZipRecruiter, less than 15% of job postings listed a bachelor's degree as a requirement in 2023, down from 18% in 2022.[5] Additionally, 72% of employers surveyed by ZipRecruiter said they prioritize candidates' skills and experience over their diplomas.
This shift is driven by factors such as the need for a more diverse workforce, the recognition that many jobs don't necessarily require a four-year degree, and the demographic reality of a shrinking workforce due to declining birth rates. Employers are realizing that competent workers can be trained in the necessary skills, and a college degree is not always a reliable indicator of competence. - data sources: WSJ, NPR, CBS, and others.

 

[NoVa Lion]

This is merely me speculating but I think the real significance of this settlement will be schools finding it easier to rationalize ditching non-revenue producing sports, pitting them against each other in a free market free-for-all. Donors will be called on to jump in and save 'their' sports. ADs will be forced to "make tough decisions."

Even if the fallout winds up being a net good for a wrestling program like Penn State's, which can show real revenue, this settlement as reported (a judge can send it back to the drawing board, though ancillary issues such as this one won't be considered) can't be good for wrestling as a college sport. For most schools wrestling is a revenue loser.

That is exactly what worries me. Any major change in the way the dollars are distributed or allocated is BAD news for every college sport except football and men's bball, becuase those two sports make all the money and every other sport LOSES money. Even wrestling at PSU, although it is getting close to break even thanks to Cael,

 

[Sleepylion]

That is exactly what worries me. Any major change in the way the dollars are distributed or allocated is BAD news for every college sport except football and men's bball, becuase those two sports make all the money and every other sport LOSES money. Even wrestling at PSU, although it is getting close to break even thanks to Cael,

One of the things that is lost in this is in the last sentence. If PSU wrestling is able to break even or profit, 20 or so other teams have to do the same.
Otherwise it is a micro-league or just an inter-squad competition.

 

[Sleepylion]

Yep. Look at all the lost MLB, NFL or NBA fans to the multiple strikes.

Not much history to strike any fear into anybody about long term fan bitterness and lost attendance.

Before anybody posts, "well my father" or "I" examples of known lost fan examples remember micro examples do not make the macro history different.

As a whole, NCAA revenue generating sports (football & basketball) are not as good as their professional counterparts.

Given the cost of attending a PSU game or a PIT or PHL game, why watch the inferior product for the same or more money?

Although I would guess that maybe 30% or more of those that attend NCAA games are there for the party, not the game.

 

[HCS3Seasons]

I'll be curious to hear how will this impact D2 and D3 schools or those schools that are in those divisions, but participate at the D1 level for only a couple individual sports .... Lock Haven, Bloomsburg, Edinboro, Franklin & Marshall wrestling programs, in particular. Are there specific allotments for lower level NCAA schools? Seems like a lot of questions still need to be answered.

 

[Pennstate1985]

So much for Universities being about Education. I know, a different world than I grew up in. Still ...

Universities stopped being about education many decades ago. Probably a good 40 years ago.

 

[Lyons212]

Universities stopped being about education many decades ago. Probably a good 40 years ago.

Universities are about obtaining revenue and spending it as quickly as they get it. Everything else is secondary including providing marketable skills in exchange for that tuitition money.

 

[Rip_E_2_Joe_PA]

Are the athletes going to be employees or "student-athletes"? I think the whole system is blowing up and the sport of it is becoming less interesting to me.

Then go away.

 

[Sleepylion]

Then go away.

Maybe I will. Or maybe I'll stick around and hope it gets better.
Less interesting is not the same as NOT interesting... If it was not interesting I would be foolish to spend my time and money on it.

I definitely will not be funding it as much as I have in the past nor at the level I had planned to in the future. Not that I expect anyone outside of my household to notice any change in my behavior.

 

[Pennstate1985]

Maybe I will. Or maybe I'll stick around and hope it gets better.
Less interesting is not the same as NOT interesting... If it was not interesting I would be foolish to spend my time and money on it.

I definitely will not be funding it as much as I have in the past nor at the level I had planned to in the future. Not that I expect anyone outside of my household to notice any change in my behavior.

I agree with you. "Athletes for hire" is less appealing to me than those competing for the alma mater. It's becoming semi pro and I'm not into that either. Being "old school" doesn't make you wrong.