$2.7 billion worth House vs NCAA damages settlement gets approval from Big 12, ACC & Big Ten while SEC, Pac-12 remain to cast its vote

The House vs. NCAA lawsuit has some lasting ramifications for college athletics but on Wednesday evening, the NCAA Board of Governors voted to agree to settlement terms to avoid paying more than $4 billion if they lost the case. Three of the Power Five conferences voted to agree to it as well with the Big Ten, Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conferences all agreeing. The SEC and Pac-12 are expected to vote later this week to completely agree at the top of college athletics.

According to ESPN, the NCAA Board of Governors did not have a unanimous decision when voting on the settlement. The settlement will have the NCAA pay in excess of $2.7 billion to former student-athletes over the course of the next decade for backpay related to name, image and likeness restrictions while they were in college.

With the decision for the NCAA to settle in the House vs. NCAA case, this avoided the case heading to trial. The NCAA could have wound up paying more than $4 billion if the courts ruled against them. Legal experts expected that the court would not rule in the NCAA's favor in the case as well. As a result of the settlement, the plaintiff agreed to dismiss two other pending antitrust cases against the NCAA.

While the settlement has been agreed upon, there are still some more steps before this becomes official. The two sides will need to present a more detailed agreement to presiding Judge Claudia Wilken. All Division I athletes have multiple months to review the terms of the settlement and decide if they are going to opt out or object to the class action settlement.

While it could take some time for payments to be sent out officially, this is definitely a major step toward how the financial aspects of college sports could shift in the coming years.

What does the settlement of House vs. NCAA mean going forward?

There are differing opinions on what this settlement means for the future of college athletics. This settlement does not mean all the legal issues are situated with their former business models.

Some university leaders are skeptical about whether this settlement will clarify the way forward. Other college sport leaders have some issues with how the financial burden will be spread among the conferences.