NCAA finally approves corporate logos on football fields to generate more revenue after House settlement

Two weeks after the settlement of the House vs. NCAA antitrust case that changed the face of college sports, more changes are coming to college football. The governing body overseeing college sports has approved a change that allows schools to display corporate logos on their football fields starting next season.

The settlement that came about as a result of the antitrust case stipulates that schools will share up to $22 million with the student-athletes in their programs over a period of 10 years.

President of Playfly Sports Craig Sloan broke down to On3 the opportunity for increased revenue that will come about due to the ruling by the NCAA allowing corporate logos on football fields.

“You’re talking about some of the most important IPs in the world are these IPs of these schools,” Sloan said. “And you can’t, from a commercial perspective, get better proximity to that IP than to be on the field or on the uniform. You are talking about the most valuable real estate that exists in any ecosystem, but specifically with college are these two positions.”

With programs under pressure to find increased revenue to fulfill the terms of the House vs. NCAA settlement, Sloan indicated that the likelihood that corporates will flock to pay money to be showcased is quite high.

“Innovation is going to have to happen to create new revenue pathways for what’s needed now to fund the NIL efforts in general, the student-athlete as a university employee [potential model], things that are all happening in real-time,” Sloan said.

“It can’t be done with just saying, ‘Sell the existing inventory for more.’ So we’re being challenged. We’re actually proactively in many ways going to our school partners and going with concepts that we think have high value from the advertising and brand community,” Sloan added.

NCAA adapting to changes in college sports

The governing body has had to adapt to the changes that have swept through college sports over the past few years, including the NIL settlement and the House vs. NCAA antitrust case that has forced another rethink.

Under the settlement, the Division I conferences and the NCAA will have to cough up $2.8 billion in damages over 10 years to student-athletes while the individual programs can share revenue of up to $22 million yearly.

According to the counsel for the case's plaintiffs, Steve Berman, the salary cap for student-athletes will increase by 4% during the first three years of the settlement due to the increasing revenues of the individual programs.