Everything to Know About NCAA's Groundbreaking House Settlement

Judge Claudia Wilken approved the terms for a $2.8B settlement against the NCAA, allowing schools to pay players directly through licensing deals. 

The House v. NCAA antitrust lawsuit has paved the way for universities to pay student athletes directly. Name Image and Likeness, remains the largest variable in all of college sports. How it’s defined and regulated outside of the salary cap will determine competitive balance.

NCAA President Charlie Baker had lots to say in a letter penned to his colleagues. It included a bombshell, which mentions the first ever salary cap. Here are some of the vital terms from the settlement agreement. 

”Going forward, the defendant conferences will be responsible for implementing several elements of the settlement, including the design and enforcement of the annual 22.5% cap (approximately $20.5 million in year one) for financial benefits a Division I school may direct to student-athletes.”

“The defendant conferences are also responsible for launching and enforcing a series of rules regarding the third-party NIL contracts student-athletes may enter into. With these reforms, along with scholarships and other benefits, student-athletes at many schools will be able to receive nearly 50% of all athletics department revenue.”

“This is an exciting moment for everyone involved in college sports. As the defendant conferences now own several facets of rulemaking and enforcement related to specific settlement areas, the NCAA will be able to move away from certain enforcement activity that, despite the best efforts of many, wasn't working well."

"Rather, we will focus on further enhancing what is working: elevating the student-athlete experience and maintaining fair playing rules and eligibility and academic standards. Student-athletes will benefit from the rich opportunities they enjoy now, plus far more scholarship opportunities, landmark financial benefits and a streamlined NCAA to support them.”

What does this all mean?

College athletes have the right to get paid off their own brand, instead of the NCAA profiting everything and punishing students for it. The schools will be able to directly pay players instead of engaging in various forms of impropriety and non-official payment systems. A salary cap of sorts would level the playing field in terms of financial recruiting abilities in theory.

However, lets be honest, schools have been paying players for decades under the table, cheating on the cap is to be expected. But restrictions will be put in place by the new College Sports Commission. The bumpers set in place by the NCAA are being removed and whatever happens from here on out is not their issue. 

Eventually, possibly even sooner than later, a split from the NCAA as a whole may occur. The Power Four conferences have individual television deals and may not want to play under the new financial restrictions. Simply because they have enough money not to.

In the end the college football and basketball athletes will still get a majority of the athletic payouts, because they are the top revenue performing sports. Each school will have $20.5 million to distribute how they choose. Everyone being paid to play and allowed to market their own brand is a great thing for the starving student. What it will do to the competition between the haves and the have nots remains to be seen.