NCAA, power conferences agree to allow schools to pay players

[GrizMusician]

“The NCAA and its five power conferences have agreed to allow schools to directly pay players for the first time in the 100-plus-year history of college sports.”

NCAA, Power 5 agree to let schools pay players

The NCAA and its leagues are moving forward with a multibillion-dollar settlement agreement that will allow schools to directly pay players for the first time in the history of college sports.

www.espn.com

It certainly seems this will drive further division between the Power 5, the mid majors, and the rest of college football.

 

[GrizSpartan]

It is no longer an amateur sport, that is for sure.

 

[mthoopsfan]

"Some athletes could be getting tens of thousands or over a hundred thousand [dollars] in the settlement," Berman said.”

Berman told ESPN that a series of formulas devised by a sports economist will be used to decide how to split the $2.7 billion in damages among more than 10,000 former and current athletes. He said some money will be split evenly among all members, but other parts will be allocated based on the athlete's market value. Metrics such as career snap count or a player's star rating in recruiting might determine their payout, he said.”

"Several athletic directors told ESPN that they are hopeful the settlement lays the groundwork for a system in which success on the field is less dependent on which schools can spend the most money. Sources said some of the challenges to solve include figuring out how to distribute the revenue-sharing money in a way that meets market needs while complying with Title IX laws and whether schools can regain control of the marketplace for college athletes, which has been outsourced during the past three years to booster collectives, which pay athletes via name, image and likeness endorsement deals."

 

[Montana37]

Free tuition and getting paid thousands if not millions lol what a joke. What’s also a joke is how the big schools willing to spend loads of money will now even further separate themselves and there will never be any sort of parity again.

 

[ElrodGrizzly]

From The Athletic Newsletter this morning, and it felt worth sharing -- (If you aren't subscribing, you should)

$2.75 billion and a new NCAA model

May 23, 2024, will officially become a before-and-after date in college sports history after yesterday’s news: The NCAA and its power conferences officially agreed to a settlement in the House vs. NCAA case. This didn’t feel like major news, but the ramifications are astounding: The settlement includes payment of $2.75 billion from the NCAA to former student-athletes from 2016 onward who lost out on NIL opportunities. That money will be paid out over a 10-year period. More importantly, it allows each conference to begin revenue sharing with its student athletes as it sees fit. That means money from these big, massive, TV deals will make its way directly to players, something unheard of even a few years ago. This change could come as soon as next year, and could include more than $20 million per school distributed to power-conference athletes. On its face, this is a great move. An equitable move. The hokey sheen of college athletics long shrouded the reality that the NCAA’s business was simply unfair and, in many cases, illegal. But how does this change college sports? It’s natural to wonder if fully shedding the amateur label might make everything a little more corporate and stale. As Stewart Mandel explained yesterday, don’t worry: The product, while different, will still be awesome. We can rue the end of conferences all we want, but making more big-name games will only draw more eyes to college football and other sports. This shouldn’t really change the academic experience for these athletes. The truth is that most student athletes don’t go pro in their respective sports. So these athletes will earn an education and get paid appropriately while doing it. Novel! And, as Stewart also notes, people will always complain. I’m just happy everything seems to be moving forward.

 

[behappp]

Under the approved framework, the NCAA will fund 41% of the damages ($1.1 billion) while the schools will fund 59% ($1.65 billion) over the 10-year payback period. At issue is the schools’ portion. The power conferences will pay about $664 million in contributions to the damages. The other 27 non-power conferences will pay $990 million — a split that has angered those from non-power leagues.

 

[griz4life]

Maybe it's time to do away with "free" tuition and award college athletes with a base salary equal to the cost of credits for a bachelor's degree. Let a legally enforceable obligation govern the relationship between the school and the student athlete. Whatever additional revenue the students create is theirs, though they must pay the university for any mention of the university or athletics in their money making.
Any additional compensation to base salary from the university can come with additional requirements from the students including regular season wins, rivalry wins, playoff appearances, etc.

Breach of contract can require repayment and penalties.

What I'm saying is, if participation in college sports is going to be based on dollars, then make it fully based on dollars. Make it very clear that everyone is being paid something. Not everyone gets the big pay of the P5, but everyone has to acknowledge that they are paid and have obligations to meet for being paid.

 

[3-7-77]

This looks like a NFL minor league arrangement. Cut the BS. If they(NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, etc.)want a minor league, a developmental league, let them pay for it, ALL OF IT! No use of school names, colors, facilities, coaches, staffs. A clear separation between professional and amateur sports. Jesse Owens and Jim Thorpe gotta be rolling over in their graves by now.

 

[first11]

Spot on

 

[first11]

Spot on. Beginning of end, end of the beginning!

 

[CDAGRIZ]

So, does this mean the best players will go to the biggest programs, and we won’t be in the running for 5-stars anymore?

 

[ElrodGrizzly]

I'm not sure I think there can be a separation of pro and amateur sports anymore. In retrospect, we now know that players were always being paid. There is too much money in college athletics, and too much money burning a hole in the pockets of many major boosters, and it will always filter down to the kids under the table. We got to the point where we were taking heisman trophies away for one kid doing the same thing every other player at his level was doing, and suspended a national championship winning coach for buying kids a hamburger.

Honestly, I think it has always been a huge mess with big paydays at the top and a lack of that parity. Now it is just out in the open.

 

[HelenaHandBasket]

This should do away with athletic scholarships. There will be roster limits and players will pay there educational expenses from their paycheck. What until you hear a 19 year wonder who Withholding is, and why do they get so much money.

 

[CDAGRIZ]

I'm not sure I think there can be a separation of pro and amateur sports anymore. In retrospect, we now know that players were always being paid. There is too much money in college athletics, and too much money burning a hole in the pockets of many major boosters, and it will always filter down to the kids under the table. We got to the point where we were taking heisman trophies away for one kid doing the same thing every other player at his level was doing, and suspended a national championship winning coach for buying kids a hamburger.

Honestly, I think it has always been a huge mess with big paydays at the top and a lack of that parity. Now it is just out in the open.

Exactly. It's been happening for decades. You think ol' Ferdinand Alcindor just decided to roll up to Westwood from Harlem when every single other program in between wanted him? I seriously doubt it.

 

[ElrodGrizzly]

Exactly. It's been happening for decades. You think ol' Ferdinand Alcindor just decided to roll up to Westwood from Harlem when every single other program in between wanted him? I seriously doubt it.

Somehow have gone through my entire life without knowing his first name was originally "Ferdinand." I have no idea how I missed that.

 

[maroonandsilver]

This should do away with athletic scholarships. There will be roster limits and players will pay there educational expenses from their paycheck. What until you hear a 19 year wonder who Withholding is, and why do they get so much money.

If we are going to stop pretending they are amateurs, then we can stop pretending they are students, that they actually go to class. They don't need no stinkin' scholarships.

 

[Grizfan-24]

Amateurism in the classic Olympics sense started dying about the time that nations and states started caring about results of athletic competition about five minutes after the first modern Olympics more than a hundred years ago. The NCAA held on probably a lot long than it should have and is probably worse for wear because of it.

If for profit access sports in the United States has filtered all the way down to 10 year olds, it seems like the NCAA model of surface level care about 'student-athletes' and ethical standards seems so weirdly misplaced. Tradition is an incredible narcotic. A free education is maybe enough when the college is merely taking those proceeds to reinvest in those programs and those players. It is another when the NCAA and conference sign billion dollar decade TV and licensing deals that are merely shuffled away to endowments and funds far away from those players. Players rightly in that market, deserve some part of the part of the pie considering their role in generating those enormous profits that schools until recent been able to squirrel away.

In addition if it creates two or more layers of college athletics, I am all for it. I can appreciate and enjoy both, knowing that Montana isn't going to be Alabama. I was never under the illusion the two were equal, but I understand that some thought that amateurism at both schools 'equal.' Now that the NCAA has admitted they aren't, and never will be we can move on to create a more equitable and fair structure for all schools involved.

I find that regulatory construction in this environment is likely to be less negative and more positive in the long run in this scenario. Where the NCAA is no longer clinging to impropriety of benefits and false amateurism, but rather focusing on the regulation that creates level playing fields with actual defensible structures than what we have now. They can create wage caps, roster structures, and how student-athletes can benefit. Gets it out into the open.

We'll adapt to it just like all the other changes we've seen to amateur athletics over the past 50 years. This is a positive move, even though it is a radical change.

 

[mthoopsfan]

So, does this mean the best players will go to the biggest programs, and we won’t be in the running for 5-stars anymore?

I wonder how long the Big 5 scholarships and payments will last. Now, FBS scholarships are essentially guaranteed for 5 years (all years of playing at the school). I assume that will remain the case.

How long will the annual extra payments be? Obviously, the player will have to continue to be on team. All players, or just two-deep? Can player just stay on scholarship and practice, but be 3d or 4th team, and keep getting the extra payment?

Will players not playing, if they still get the extra annual payment, just stay on the team to make the extra money for a few more years, instead of transferring to a non-Top 5 conference team or to FCS? Sort of the like the Indiana QB, who almost came to UM but went to Michigan to sit on bench and make $90,000 of NIL. At least, he got a national championship too.

My view is that the new pay system is awful and will all but ruin amateur athletics. In the long run, it will hurt FCS. I'm not so sure that all fans are going to like the new professional system. This fan won't. I'm not so sure that real competition will get better. The best teams will get better and stronger.

This will also ensure that schools like UM will never be able to be top basketball teams (say top 30 in some or a few years). UM already doesn't have the funding/money or enough NIL. Now, the money thing will get worse.

NIL money is already skewing things. This top 5 conference/payment thing will make the money thing/influence even worse.

 

[DoubleNicks]

Under the approved framework, the NCAA will fund 41% of the damages ($1.1 billion) while the schools will fund 59% ($1.65 billion) over the 10-year payback period. At issue is the schools’ portion. The power conferences will pay about $664 million in contributions to the damages. The other 27 non-power conferences will pay $990 million — a split that has angered those from non-power leagues.

I'm assuming most highly rated recruits go to power conferences. Yet, the split suggests the opposite. So, does this mean regardless if a school had a high ranking recruit they still have to pay for the fame of the big boys? Like already struggling EWU having to pay for Alabama's stars?

 

[3-7-77]

Money has killed amateur sports. Chicago Black Sox on down the line. Where does one turn to get money OUT OF SPORTS? NCAA is as flat assed courrpt as Congress, and politicians in general. That slippery slope, once started on, has only one ending. Glad I won't be around long enough to see it.