The world of college athletics officially changed Friday night when U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken of the Northern District of California approved the NCAA’s settlement in three antitrust lawsuits. The settlement introduces revenue sharing in college sports, and Alabama Athletics is at the forefront of the changes.
The settlement, often referred to as the “House Settlement” in the college football sphere, allows for universities to begin directly compensating student-athletes in a new revenue sharing structure produced by the SEC, Big 10, Big 12 and ACC. The settlement is also set to regulate name, image and likeness deals and impose roster limits on sports teams.
These changes will officially be enacted on July 1, meaning Alabama athletics has a little under a month before new roster limits and salary caps become official.
University of Alabama Athletic Director Greg Byrne said in a statement on social media that the Alabama Athletics had been planning for the settlement, calling it “one of the biggest transformational changes in college athletics.”
“We’re extremely proud of the world-class resources our student-athletes receive and will now add to that by offering new scholarships while fully funding revenue sharing,” he said.
The three lawsuits that ended were brought in part by dozens of former student-athletes who were unable to capitalize on NIL benefits. As one condition in the settlement, the NCAA will give $2.8 billion in backpay to thousands of student-athletes who played between 2016-2024.
“The settlement agreement nevertheless will result in extraordinary relief for members of the settlement classes,” Wilken said.
Schools are expected to have an initial allotment of around $20 million each for 2025-26 and could grow up to over $30 million in 2034-35. According to Yahoo Sports, power conference schools are expected to give around 90% of those funds to football and men’s basketball programs, as those are generally considered the most valuable sports to respective institutions.
In her 76-page opinion, Wilken discussed what the settlement would mean for college athletics.
One potential drawback that was mentioned before the settlement was passed was the roster limit that will be imposed on teams, potentially eliminating some athletes’ opportunity to join teams.
In the previous NCAA model for football, schools were allotted 85 spots for scholarship players but could have as many walk-on players as they desired. According to the settlement, rosters will have a cap at 105 scholarship players.
Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban said he was concerned about potentially eliminating walk-ons during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show last August.
“Some of the things moving forward that have been presented is that all players would be on scholarship, and there’d be no opportunities for walk-ons,” Saban said. “I think that’s not good, and it’s all a participation number thing that people are trying to control.”
The SEC plans to issue 85 football scholarships per team even with the limit of 105, giving programs the space to keep walk-ons.
Name, image and likeness deals will also not be going anywhere. Alabama student-athletes will still be allowed to collect income from NIL partnerships with brands and collectives, but those deals will be under the microscope of the newly formed College Sports Commission.
According to a press release from the Big 10, the role of the College Sports Commission will be the following:
“An independent body that will be responsible for implementing the settlement terms governing revenue sharing, student-athlete Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) deals and roster limits. The Commission will investigate any potential violations of these rules, make determinations regarding potential rules violations and penalties, provide notice and opportunity to be heard, participate in the arbitration process and ultimately administer penalties for violations of these rules.”
Bryan Seeley, former MLB executive vice president of legal & operations, was named the CEO of the commission on Saturday, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Jeff Passan.
“We have a long history of being one of the most successful athletics departments, and we will carry on that tradition as we enter this new world,” Byrne said.
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