A major turning point in college athletics came to fruition Thursday when the NCAA Board of Governors and every Power Five conference agreed to settlement terms in the landmark House v. NCAA lawsuit. The resolution promises to change the college athletics enterprise forever by effectively ending its long-standing amateurism model.
For the first time, schools will directly share a portion of revenue with athletes. Scholarship and roster rules are expected to change. Major athletic departments will help pick up a massive check in back damages. Most significantly, the case should help provide some legal protection for college athletics as it heads into the future of the NIL era.
The proposal, now green lit by college athletics decision-makers, heads back to the plaintiffs for approval. Then, the full group will go in front of a judge to formalize the settlement and institute it. This process could take several weeks.
Here’s how the inevitable settlement will impact athletic departments and the on-field product in the coming years.
The Big Ten, SEC win again
The financial hit for athletic departments, especially among power conferences, will be exorbitant. The NCAA will take on a lion’s share of the cost via reserves, insurance and budget cuts, but the schools themselves are still on the hook. According to documents obtained by Yahoo Sports, power-conference schools are expected to fork up as much as $30 million per year over the next 10 years to cover revenue-sharing distribution, back damages and expanded scholarship costs.
If you wonder why Texas and Oklahoma went to the SEC, while USC and UCLA defected to the Big Ten, the potential cost of litigation played a significant role. A massive new Big Ten television contract could essentially fully cover the cost of the new reality for the Trojans and Bruins.
For other schools, it won’t be as simple. The ACC’s total ESPN television contract…
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