DoorAssociated press
Published: May. 23, 2024 at 9:04 PM EDT|Updated: 6 hours ago
(AP) - The NCAA and the nation's five major conferences announced Thursday evening that they have reached an agreementNearly $2.8 billion paid to settle a slew of antitrust claims, a monumental decision that paves the way for a groundbreaking revenue-sharing model that could send millions of dollars directly to athletes as early as fall 2025.
NCAA President Charlie Baker, along with the commissioners of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conference, released a joint statement saying they had agreed toconditions for settlement. They called the move "an important step in the ongoing reform of college sports that will benefit student-athletes and provide clarity to college athletics across all divisions for years to come."
The terms were not disclosed, although some details have emerged in recent weeks. They signal the end of the NCAA's fundamental amateurism model, which dates back to its founding in 1906. In fact, the days of NCAA punishment for athletes who rode in booster-powered cars began to fade three years ago when the organizationhas lifted restrictions on endorsem*nt dealssupported by so-called name, image and likeness money.
The agreement must still be approved by the federal judge overseeing the case, and plaintiffs will have the opportunity to opt out or challenge the terms of the agreement. If it stays that way, it would usher in a new era in college sports, where athletes are compensated more like professionals and schools can compete for talent using direct payments.
"There's no doubt about it. It's a quantum leap," said Tom McMillen, the former Maryland basketball player and congressman who has led an association of collegiate athletic directors for the past eight years.
Now, it's not far-fetched to look forward to seasons where star quarterbacks or top players on college basketball teams not only land big NIL deals but also have six-figure college paychecks in the bank to play with.
“This landmark settlement will bring college sports into the 21st century, where college athletes can finally receive their fair share of the billions of dollars in revenue they generate for their schools,” said Steve Berman, one of the plaintiffs' lead attorneys. . “Our customers are the foundation of the NCAA's multi-billion dollar business and can finally be fairly and equitably compensated for their extraordinary athletic talents.”
There are a lot of themdetails not yet determined,but the agreement calls for the NCAA and conferences to pay $2.77 billion over 10 years to more than 14,000 former and current college athletes who say now-defunct rules prevented them from making money from endorsem*nts and sponsorship agreements dating back to 2016.
“Even if only because of overwhelming legal pressure, the NCAA, conferences and schools agree that college athletes should be paid,” said Ramogi Huma, a former UCLA football player and longtime advocate for college athletes. "And from there, there's no turning back. It's truly groundbreaking."
Some of the money will come from NCAA reserve funds and insurance, but while the lawsuit specifically targeted five conferences consisting of 69 schools (including Notre Dame),dozens of other NCAA member schoolswill see smaller distributions from the NCAA to cover the massive payout.
Schools in the Big Ten, Big 12, ACC and SEC will likely bear the brunt of the settlement in the future, with an estimated cost of approximately $300 million each over 10 years, most of which will be paid directly to athletes .
“The settlement, while undesirable in many ways and promising only temporary stability, is necessary to prevent bankruptcy for college athletics,” said Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins.
PAYING ATHLETES
Under the new compensation model, each school will be allowed, but not required, to set aside up to $21 million in revenue to share with athletes per year, but as revenues increase, so could the cap.
Athletes in all sports would be eligible for payments, and schools would be given the freedom to decide how to distribute the money among sports programs. Scholarship limits per sport will be replaced by roster limitations.
Whether the new compensation model falls under Title IX of the Equal Opportunity Act remains to be seen, as does whether the schools will be able to bring NIL activities in-house as they hope, and the booster-driven collectives that have emerged. to push out. in recent years to pay athletes. Both issues could lead to multiple lawsuits.
PARTICIPATION
The federal class action at the heart of the settlement,House vs. NCAA, had to appear in court in January. The complaint, filed by former Arizona State swimmer Grant House and Sedona Prince, a former Oregon and current TCU basketball player, said the NCAA, along with the five wealthiest conferences, improperly prevented athletes from making money.
The lawsuit also argued that athletes were entitled to a share of the billions of dollars the NCAA and those conferences earn from media rights deals with television networks.
Amid political and public pressure and faced with the prospect of another lawsuit that some in college sports say could amount to as much as $20 billion in damages, the NCAA and conference officials conceded what has long been a core concern: that schools not directly doing. pay the athletes to play on top of a scholarship.
That principle has been dented countless times over the past decade. The Supreme Court, in particular, has ruled unanimouslymod NCAA in 2021in a case about education-related benefits.
The narrow focus of the Alston case did not collapse the collegiate sports system, but the powerful rebuke of the NCAA's amateurism model opened the door for more lawsuits. Judge Brett Kavanaugh, a former Yale athlete, put it bluntly: “The bottom line is that the NCAA and its member colleges suppress the pay of student athletes, who collectively generate billions of dollars in revenue for colleges each year.”
THE OTHER CASES
The settlement is expected to include twoandre antitrustsagerfaces NCAA and major conferences challenging athlete compensation rules. Hubbard vs. NCAA and Carter vs. The NCAA is also currently before judges in the Northern District of California.
A fourth case, Fontenot vs. NCAA, creates a potential complication because it remains after a judge in a Colorado courta request rejectedto combine it with Carter. Whether Fontenot will be part of the settlement remains to be seen, and that's important because the NCAA and its conferences don't want to be on the hook for even more damages if they lose in court.
“We will continue to litigate our case in Colorado and look forward to hearing the terms of any proposed settlement once they are actually released and brought to trial,” said George Zelcs, plaintiff's attorney in Fontenot.
COLLEGE OF ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE
The resolution chosen in the settlement is a milestone, but not surprising. College sports have been moving in this direction for years, with athletes receiving more and more financial benefits and rights that they say are long overdue.
In December, Baker, the former governor of Massachusetts who served 14 months in office, saidproposed to create a new series of Division I athleticswith the most resourced schools required to pay at least half of their athletes $30,000 per year. This proposal, along with many other options, is still being discussed.
The settlement does not make all the problems facing college sports go away. There is still the question of whether athletes should beare considered employeesfrom their schools, some Baker and other college athletic directorsfight against.
Some form of federal legislation or antitrust relief is likely still needed to codify the terms of the settlement, protect the NCAA from future lawsuits and pre-empt state laws that seek to neutralize the organization's authority. Like it is,The NCAA continues to face lawsuitsthat challenge the country's ability to govern itself, including setting rules that limit multiple transfers.
“This settlement also provides a roadmap for college athletic leaders and Congress to ensure this unique American institution can continue to provide unparalleled opportunities to millions of students,” the joint statement said. “All of Division I made today's progress possible, and we all have work to do to implement the terms of the agreement as the legal process continues. We look forward to working with our various student-athlete leadership groups to write the university's next chapter. sport.
Federal lawmakers have indicated they want something done, but for a whileVarious bills have been submitted, no one went anywhere.
Despite the unanswered questions, one thing is clear: Major college athletics are starting to look more like professional sports than ever before.
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