Greg Sankey & Tony Petitti criticize the employment model as fate of college sports hangs in the balance

The current state of college sports hangs in the balance as a federal judge is considering approving a huge NCAA settlement that would pay athletes over $2 billion. Commissions, athletic directions and several coaches spent hours meeting with Congress on Wednesday, lobbying for the terms of the settlement.

Part of it involves reclassifying student-athletes as employees, and they would receive a large payout. However, many members of the college sports community went to Washington to lobby against the passing of the settlement. Several Power Four commissioners spoke at a reception about the ills of an employment model in college sports.

One of the concessions college commissions and athletic directors are looking to get in the settlement is setting a salary cap like professional sports leagues. College football insider Ross Dellenger reported on what many of the commissioners spoke about.

"Brett Yormark said the settlement “needs to be codified” with a federal bill and called the portal “unsustainable” and said commissioners are addressing the portal issue. Jim Phillips said commissioners “feel really good” about today’s meetings and must preserve Olympic sports," Dellenger tweeted on Wednesday.

"Greg Sankey said leaders must “keep pushing” for federal legislation and said the “downstream effects” of employment would be “substantial.” Tony Petitti said “access” and other benefits for athletes would “go down” in an employment model," Dellenger's follow-up tweet read.

What are the terms of the house settlement that could affect the state of college sports?

The exact terms of the house settlement have not been approved by a federal judge yet, and that is why so many senior executives in the college sports world were in Washington on Wednesday. They were lobbying to get the best deal possible; however, some terms have been confirmed.

The NCAA agreed to pay $2.8 billion in damages to past and present athletes. These will settle three federal antitrust lawsuits that claimed that the NCAA limited college sports athletes' earning potential. This new system would also introduce a new model that would reclassify student-athletes as employees and allow schools to pay them directly.

In exchange, the NCAA will be allowed to establish a salary cap that is expected to start at roughly $20.5 million per school. The deal will last for 10 years, with the salary cap increasing annually by an amount that is still unspecified. The deal will also give schools the chance to police the use of NIL to prevent teams from using brand deals to circumvent the cap.