NCAA Settlement Alters Landscape of College Football

Oregon Football will be among the programs figuring out a new world as revenue sharing and direct pay-for-play mark another fundamental shake-up of college athletics.

Oregon Ducks quarterback Bo Nix greets Phil Knight after defeating the Liberty Flames to win the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Jan. 1, 2024. / Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY

EUGENE - Another seismic event has taken place in the collegiate athletics landscape.

Just a few short years after the implementation of name, image, and likeness, as well as the introduction of the transfer portal, the make-up of college sports will once again shift dramatically in the coming years.

In a landmark settlement between the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and its member institutions, the NCAA will pay $2.8 billion in damages to former athletes who were, at the time of their participation, unable to be compensated for their efforts and achievements. This is positive news for athletes who have historically been underserved by the NCAA while the association rakes in hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue, but does add to the uncertainty in what college athletics will look like in the futre.

Oregon Ducks quarterback Bo Nix greets Phil Knight after defeating the Liberty Flames to win the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Jan. 1, 2024. / Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY

Another, more forward-looking aspect of the settlement comes in the introduction of revenue sharing between NCAA athletic departments and their athletes who will now be eligible for payments, up to 22% of the department’s average annual revenue. This will serve as a boost to athletes’ bottom lines as they can now combine revenue sharing income with their individual NIL plans to round out solid incomes for many.

What’s puzzling is the place collectives will still have, as it doesn’t sound like these entities will be taken apart.

“Collectives aren’t going anywhere,” said Russell White, president of The Collective Association. The consensus seems to be that schools will utilize their NIL collectives to work around the revenue sharing cap through direct payments from collectives to athletes, similar to what’s been in place.

The existence of collectives gives universities an out against obvious Title IX concerns about unequal revenue distribution between different gendered sports and will foster a similar monetary structure to what fans have become used to over the last few years.

Schools with the most booster money will be able to continue their run on the top talent in sports, as 5-star commits have become unbelievably consolidated in where they play within each sport. The teams in the top 25 of college football, for instance, have landed upwards of 90% of the 5-star commits in the last dozen or so years. Oregon fans should be happy about this as the Ducks are one of the teams in that elite circle and will be able to continue paying top dollar for prized recruits.

There is no change in the supposed amateurism of college athletes, however, as the NCAA is still hoping to hang on to the non-employee model that has served it well over its lifespan. Many are speculating that this issue will have to be resolved by Congress in what would provide another opportunity for collegiate athletics to be transformed from the ground up.

The landscape of college athletics has been on a roller coaster ride over the last few years and this settlement marks possibly the biggest paradigm shift yet. While many fans feel that collegiate sports are on a slippery and dangerous slope, it’s hard to ignore the benefits this new structure will have for the athletes themselves.

All of this could be nullified in the near future, as Senior District Judge Claudia Wilken could decide in the coming months to deny the settlement. That would begin the process anew for the NCAA in their search for peace and stability among the constantly changing rules and landscape.