New Revenue Sharing Rules for NCAA Athletes Cause Concerns
by Melinda Burris
On July 26, this year, as the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics was about to kick off, the NCAA and athletes who were suing the organization in a class action suit reached a lengthy court settlement. The final approval hearing that would give the green light for the new settlement and its provisions to go into place starting with the 2025-2026 season, is scheduled for April 7, 2025.
First, let’s examine the court case and what it involves so we can have a clear understanding of its expected ramifications as well as some insight into why many coaches, staff, and student-athletes are concerned there may be unintended consequences as a result of this ruling.
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The Court Case
The House vs. NCAA settlement, as it is often referred to, is actually a series of cases brought by current and former NCAA players. The House referred to in the name of the settlement is a reference to Grant House, a former collegiate swim competitor from Arizona University. House sued the NCAA in 2020 on the grounds that student-athletes who had been ineligible to receive payment for their name, image, and likeness (NIL) before the July 1, 2021 rule change were owed backpay for money generated using those things.1
The three major components the settlement addresses are:
- Retroactive payments:Under the terms of the settlement, athletes who competed within the NCAA between June 15, 2016, and September 15, 2024, and were prohibited by the association’s rules from receiving a share of profits made from using their NIL, are ordered to receive a total of $2.78 billion in restitution.1
- Revenue sharing:All schools and conferences under the umbrella of the NCAA are now able to determine how they will share profits made from ticket sales and media rights with the athletes. The cap on the amount schools can share is predicted to begin at an amount in excess of $20 million and continue to climb from there.1
- New roster limits:This settlement would leave schools open to giving out as many scholarships as they choose, which seems like a positive, at least on the surface. But then the proverbial other shoe drops: New roster limits apply on a sport-by-sport basis, meaning schools can only offer as many athletic scholarships for each sport as they have open roster spots for that game.1
The NCAA has gone through numerous changes over the last several years, including the NIL ruling that was mentioned previously, the introduction of the transfer portal, and major shakeups in conference lineups as teams have been shifted around. But the idea of revenue shifting has track and field coaches around the nation concerned that their slim financing in comparison to high-profile sports like basketball and football could dwindle even further or worse yet, their programs may not survive as schools and the NCAA scramble to collect the funds required to give the mandated retro pay to former student-athletes.1
These concerns are detailed in a joint opinion editorial issued by The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) along with the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA), American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association (CRCA), College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA), Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA), and the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA). Coming out with one voice shows the shared concerns and the solidarity these “other” sports—the ones that are just as important yet don’t get the media attention or the ticket sales they deserve, feel.
The opinion piece highlighted the importance of all sports being nurtured and supported at institutions of higher learning noting, that in 2024, “21 USA teams had at least 80 percent collegiate participation on their rosters.” As if that weren’t enough to support the editorial’s contention that the college sports structure in America plays a crucial role in feeding “the talent pipeline to our Olympic rosters”, the statement goes on to point out that “there were 15 teams that were comprised solely of current or former college athletes.”2
As the editorial continues, the authors express their serious apprehension about what they see as a shifting paradigm wherein college athletes participating in Olympic sports are viewed as employees. Put bluntly, the writers warn, “Forcing these programs into a model with employees, salaries, and revenue targets would be an existential threat to the talent pipeline that makes up the majority of Team USA. The costs that could come with such a shift would undoubtedly lead to drastic cuts, and likely the elimination of most college Olympic sports programs altogether.” 2
Later in the editorial, it is pointed out that there are numerous “educational benefits of being a college athlete” even though “most college athletes never compete professionally in their sport.” Here, the authors acknowledge this is especially true in the sports they represent because just as in college, these sports do not have a wide, money-generating following at the professional level.2
The official statement ends with a plea that Congress will step in, and act based on “the need to protect collegiate Olympic sports and ensure that the erasure of our entire Olympic pipeline as we know it is not one of the unintended consequences of recent sweeping changes in college sports.”2
When you read the op-ed in its entirety it is clear that professional coaches of sports like track and field are worried that their already underfunded and often overlooked endeavors and achievements will be pushed to the wayside and in some cases dismantled altogether. They are crying out that their sport and the students who are given the opportunity to attend college because they excel in these sports should not be forgotten or undermined.
The emphasis that is placed on college sports being a vital conduit of athletic talent to the professional and Olympic levels can’t be over-emphasized. If track and field and other less high-profile sports are cut at the collegiate level, it will undoubtedly undermine America’s ability to compete on the world stage.
References:
- Kahler, T. (31 October 2024). Seismic Changes Are Coming to College Sports. Track Coaches Are Bracing for Cuts.
- (26 August 2024). The USTFCCCA Stands Alongside Other Collegiate Coaching Bodies Demanding Action From Congress.
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