How Will Ole Miss, Grove Collective Respond to House v. NCAA Settlement?

Walker Jones of The Grove Collective believes that the group is well-positioned to handle any changes that may come from the House v. NCAA court settlement.

Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

The landscape of college athletics continues to change, but how will the Ole Miss Rebels adapt in the years ahead?

The NCAA and Power conferences have agreed to a settlement in the House v. NCAA case that "includes $2.8 billion in damages to former college athletes and 22 percent of the average Power Five school's revenues," according to Forbes. That amount is estimated to be around $20 million annually per school in future revenue sharing, and that number will increase as revenues increase.

According to reports, the NCAA is expected to pay about $1.1 billion of the past damages with $1.65 billion being the responsibility of the Power Five and $990 million from the other Division I conferences. As far as current and future athletes are concerned, the revenue categories in this sharing model include TV contracts, ticket sales and sponsorships, but it excludes donations.

According to the same report by Forbes: "Each school will have to determine how much to offer and how they will determine the amount each athlete receives, presumably based on their individual market value."

So, where does that leave Ole Miss and the vaunted Grove Collective that has proven to be a machine in the world of NIL since its advent? Walker Jones of The Grove Collective recently joined Steven Willis on the Locked On Ole Miss Podcast where they discussed just that.

"I think the first thing you've got to talk about is the fact that it's finally being recognized that the players were due a fair share of the market value they helped create," Jones said. "Past, current and future student-athletes, I think it's a great day for them that a settlement of this magnitude is finally going to reward them for the value they helped create.

"I think that's kind of gotten lost in all the talk that's happened the last 10 days: 'Hallelujah for the student athlete.' For them to share in this revenue growth is really an American concept, and it's gone on far too long without it."

The athletes in college sports should certainly benefit from these changes, but what about the schools? Won't this bring about some changes to athletic department budgets? Jones stated that there are still steps to take before these shifts are implemented, and patience is needed while it all unfolds.

"Secondly, I think you need to let this breathe a little bit," Jones said. "The judge still has not approved the settlement. All the Power Four conferences, the NCAA, the other stakeholders have given their blessing to move forward, but a lot of the things you're hearing right now are conceptual in nature. They haven't been 100 percent vetted out.

"You're kind of seeing all these different stakeholders coming out and saying, 'We're going to tie this to the settlement. This concept should be a part of it, shouldn't be a part of it.' I just think that's really premature right now."

Jones admitted in the interview released on Monday that The Grove Collective's exact role may change slightly once the points outlined in this settlement take affect, but he believes the group is in a good place in regards to being able to adjust to however the landscape of college sports shifts.

"As I've told people over the last 10 days, we're well-positioned to adjust and adapt to whatever comes our way from this settlement and this evolving landscape," Jones said. "The Grove Collective will be here to serve an integral role in the [dispensing] of this money and managing the athletes, obligations, creating brand platforms for them. We need our fans to continue to support us in that. It may look a little different here and there, but the mission will still be the same."

You can view the entirety of Jones' appearance on the Locked On Ole Miss Podcast here, an interview that is almost 30 minutes in length.