Do football players get paid? Deep dive into NCAA's monetary rulebook

On May 23, 2024, a settlement between the House and the NCAA ushered in a new era for college sports, particularly football. The $2.8 billion settlement will compensate former athletes (dating back to 2016) and establish a revenue-sharing model for student-athletes, set to begin in Fall 2025. This means college athletes will start being paid like employees.

Schools are expected to share up to $23.1 million annually with their players, according to a report by ESPN. NCAA President Charlie Baker released a joint statement with the Power Five conferences announcing the move to pay players for their services and charting a way forward:

"The five autonomy conferences and the NCAA agreeing to settlement terms is an important step in the continuing reform of college sports that will provide benefits to student-athletes and provide clarity in college athletics across all divisions for years to come. "

For the past three years, most of the money for student-athletes has come from NIL collectives. According to ESPN, the settlement includes terms focused on ending payments from these collectives that aren't for actual endorsements.

The statement also mentioned that the settlement is a road map for leaders and Congress to create bigger opportunities for students. It further read:

"All of Division I made today's progress possible, and we all have work to do to implement the terms of the agreement as the legal process continues. We look forward to working with our various student-athlete leadership groups to write the next chapter of college sports."

According to Forbes, the funding for athletes will vary, as some amount will be shared equally among all athletes, while other funds will be allocated based on individual market value. However, it is to be noted that international athletes are only allowed passive income opportunities under student visa regulations, and for now, it remains unclear where they fall under the revenue-sharing model.

As per ESPN, the cap will increase every year by roughly $1 million. The revenue will also be distributed according to the sport's popularity.

How NCAA settlement will affect college football

There has been a significant push to pay players over the past few years, and with each NIL development, the voices have grown louder. The House vs. NCAA settlement has wrought new changes in college football.

One aspect of these changes is whether football teams, which typically have rosters of 85 scholarship players and 45 walk-ons, will need to cut some of their walk-on programs to cope with the new roster caps.

Clemson Tigers coach Dabo Swinney, who was a walk-on for Alabama during his playing days, was up in arms during the ACC Media Days about these roster caps that are still being discussed.

"This is the most united coaches have been in the history of football," Swinney said. "It's so frustrating. That (becoming a coach) doesn't happen if [Stallings] hadn't seen me. I can't even imagine how different things would've been."

Programs are expected to pay around $300 million to student-athletes over a decade to cover the new settlement.