The ongoing NCAA Settlement officially received preliminary approval on Monday, October 7th, from California District Judge Claudia Wilken. This is a significant step forward in reshaping how NCAA Division I athletics will operate in the future. 

This settlement has multiple components, significantly impacting former, current, and future NCAA Division I athletes. Colleges have until March 3rd, 2025, to determine whether they will opt in or out of these new parameters. 

Back Pay to Former and Current Student Athletes 

Thousands of student-athletes who competed at a Division I level as far back as 2017 will have the opportunity to earn back pay for the inability to receive NIL payments. It is estimated that about $2.8 billion in damages will be dispersed to these athletes over a ten-year period.

Payments are expected to start as soon as May 15th, 2025. The NCAA and all Division I schools are expected to contribute to any athletes in line to receive these payments. 

On October 18th, student-athletes can submit their claims for a portion of the settlement to www.collegeathletecompensation.com. 

Breaking Down the Back Pay Structure 

It has been reported that a majority of the $2.8 billion going back to student-athletes (approximately $2.3 billion) will go to football and men’s basketball athletes at the current Power-5 Conferences, which are the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, and previous members of the Pac-12. The distribution of all these funds will be determined with a formula that equates a player’s value to lost NIL opportunities rather than a set amount based on your sport and gender. 

Revenue Sharing to Start in 2025  

If this settlement is finalized, July 2025 will signal the start of college athletics’ “pay-for-play ” era. This is the most groundbreaking piece of the settlement, as active student-athletes have never been paid directly by their institutions in the history of college athletics. 

If a school opts into the settlement, student-athletes are expected to receive up to 22% of the average Power Conference revenue in 2025, estimated to be between $21-23 million. That figure is expected to grow by about four percent each year. That amount would work like a salary cap, meaning colleges that opt into the settlement do not need to reach that total when paying their student-athletes.

Remember, schools that opt out of the settlement would not be required to pay their athletes. Many schools that aren’t in the current power conferences or don’t offer football as a sport are expected to opt out of the settlement parameters. 

They would also not have to reach that determined cap figure if they opt-in and begin paying their players. Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports has reported via X that many schools are expected to use a formula similar to the back pay structure. That would mean football players would receive about 75% of that revenue share, and the remaining 25% would be split between men’s basketball (10-15%) athletes and all other sports (10-15%). 

If approved, more than $20 billion of revenue will be shared with Division I student-athletes over the next ten years, with the cap going as high as $33 million for each school in 2035.

New Roster Limits and Updated Redshirt Rules 

In addition to paying their athletes directly, schools that opt into the settlement terms must abide by the new roster limits outlined in our previous article. Rather than having limitations on the amount of scholarship student-athletes that can be on a roster, schools will be permitted to offer a scholarship to every player on a team if they choose to do so. The NCAA will limit the maximum number of student-athletes allowed on a roster; every athlete can receive an athletic scholarship under this new model, but the schools are not required to provide a scholarship to each student-athlete. 

This change will expand the number of scholarships available to student-athletes in several sports, but it could also limit the number of walk-on opportunities.

For example, football is increasing the number of available scholarships from 85 to 105 for each team. If a school uses all 105 roster spots for scholarship players, there would be no remaining sports for walk-ons. Teams are not required to provide a scholarship to every athlete on their roster, but they are now permitted to do so at their discretion. Sports like football, basketball, and volleyball will also be able to provide partial athletic scholarships, which they could not do under the head-count scholarship model they previously utilized.

Sports like baseball and softball are among the sports that are looking forward to the increased availability of scholarships for their athletes. For baseball teams, 11.7 Scholarships are currently available under their equivalency scholarship model, which would grow to a limit of 34 under these new parameters. Softball teams will have a jump from 12 to 25 potential scholarships. You can find a complete list of the roster limit updates for each sport at the bottom of this article.

All sports are also expected to adopt football’s redshirt rules, which allow athletes to utilize a fifth year of eligibility if they play less than 30% of the games in a season. This rule received national attention earlier this fall when multiple football players announced they would take a redshirt season in response to not receiving what they anticipated in NIL payment.  

Clarity on NIL Collectives

A primary reason for the delay in the House v. NCAA preliminary approval was Judge Wilken’s request for further clarification on how NIL Collectives can continue compensating student-athletes. A third-party entity is expected to approve any compensation that does not come directly from the school. Athletes can appeal the decision through a separate, neutral arbitrator if a NIL deal is declined. The NCAA wants to keep an eye on these NIL deals to ensure they are at a fair market value rather than simply paying an athlete to attend their school. 

The Removal of the National Letter of Intent 

The Division I Council has also announced that it will remove the National Letter of Intent to finalize a student-athlete’s recruiting process. Instead, each school will use elements of the current NLI structure when creating scholarships, financial aid, and NIL agreements for student-athletes. The goal of removing the NLI process is to make the recruitment and commitment process more straightforward for student-athletes and institutions. This transition aims to reduce confusion and create consistency across sports and schools.

The updated signing periods for NCAA Division I student-athletes, as detailed in the September 2024 report, are as follows:

  • Basketball (Early Signing Period): The second Wednesday in November through the following Wednesday. For 2024, that will be November 13th-November 20th. 
  • Basketball (Regular Signing Period): Begins on the Wednesday in April, one week after the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships. In 2025, that will be April 14th. 
  • Football (Early Signing Period): The Wednesday following the final FBS regular-season contest through the immediately following Friday. In 2024, that will be December 18th-December 20th. 
  • Football (Midyear Two-Year College Transfers): Begins the Wednesday following the final FBS regular-season contest. In 2024, that will be on December 18th. 
  • Football (Regular Signing Period): Starts on the first Wednesday in February. In 2025, that will be February 5th. 
  • All Other Sports: The signing period begins on the second Wednesday in November​. In 2024, that will be November 13th. 

Questions That Remain 

This is a significant step forward, but many aspects of the settlement remain unresolved. A significant talking point has been what role Title IX will play in distributing revenue to student-athletes. More scholarships may become available to female athletes to balance the money heading toward football and men’s basketball players, but that remains unclear. 

There has also been conflict over whether athletes will be considered school employees once they receive a piece of the revenue. This could lead to future lawsuits and complicate securing official approval for the settlement. A group of objectors filed an opposition to the settlement just days before the preliminary approval was reported. 

Next Steps for the Settlement 

The court documents granting the preliminary approval include a timeline of important dates that will clarify the course of this settlement. Many steps still need to be completed before the settlement receives final approval on April 7th. 

  • October 18, 2024: Athletes involved in the case will get a notice and can start claiming their share of the $2.8 Billion settlement.
  • December 17, 2024: The amount of each athlete’s settlement backpay will be determined.
  • January 31, 2025: This is the last day for people to opt out or submit objections to the settlement. It’s also the last day for athletes to claim the money that they are owed. 
  • March 3, 2025: The judge will decide if everything is fair and respond to any complaints.
  • April 7th, 2025: This is the final hearing regarding this settlement. Judge Wilken will review everything to ensure it is fair and reasonable for everyone involved and when official approval can occur. 

SportsRecruits will update you as more information becomes available. We encourage you to follow us on our social media channels to ensure you are up-to-date and prepared for this monumental change in college athletics! 

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