Ohio State Plans to Max Out Student-Athlete Revenue Sharing

Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork talked about the future of sharing money with Buckeyes athletes, and it’s bright.

Mar 18, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State s incoming athletic director Ross Bjork speaks during the introductory press conference for basketball head coach Jake Diebler at Value City Arena. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA

The House vs. NCAA settlement will do a variety of things for college student-athletes. The most notable future benefit will be revenue-sharing between the athletic department and their student-athletes.

Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork — who just took over the Buckeyes after a stint at Texas A&M — is ready to pay up. In fact, he’s set to pay Buckeye student-athletes the maximum allowed.

“Absolutely,” Bjork said to the Columbus Dispatch. “What we’re working on right now is what that plan looks like.”

The contours of the deal have been agreed to, but a federal judge must still approve it. So, portions of the settlement could be adjusted or re-negotiated. But right now schools will be able to opt-into a compensation model that would allow schools like Ohio State to pay up to $22 million, or a figured capped at 22% of the average major conference school’s primary revenues.

Schools can also opt out of the model.

The revenue can come from television money, and the Big Ten — the conference Ohio State plays in — will have a lot of it, thanks to new TV deals that pay the league $8 billion over the next seven years. Sponsorship money and ticket sales can also be used.

One of the most significant questions for an athletic department like Ohio State is how that money will be divided. The Buckeyes serve one of the largest student-athlete bodies in the county. OSU sponsors 36 NCAA sports that serve more than 1,000 student-athletes.

There is also Title IX, a federal law that ensures gender equity in college sports. It’s not clear how that law will impact how revenue can or should be distributed. It’s one of the many variables that Bjork and his team are preparing for.

“We are committed to Title IX,” Bjork said. “We have to be. It’s the right thing. But it’s also federal law.”

That said, he said to the Dispatch that he doesn’t anticipate revenue being shared evenly and said that “hard decisions” are coming.

Bjork is the most recent Big Ten athletic director to talk about the House settlement, which will also pay a large swath of previous student-athletes billions in damages for being denied their rights to revenue-sharing.

Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen, who like Bjork is new to his job, told a group of boosters earlier this year that the Huskers have already budgeted to share $20 million next year. Minnesota athletic director Mark Coyle said he and his staff are working through next steps but are waiting for the settlement to be finalized to solidify their plans.