The House V NCAA is being talked about in terms of creating a “Salary Cap” in collegiate sports. But the NIL is still going to be a thing. Thoughts?
NIL will definitely still be a thing, however there is some verbiage in the House settlement that puts scrutiny on NIL. Allowing the schools to have more control over it. Most are expecting the revenue sharing to even things out for most P4 schools. Most G5 and below schools are expected to not opt into revenue sharing. Which is why were are probably about to see a HUGE amount of G5 and lower players hit the portal. They will test their market value in hopes of landing on a P4 team and get the revenue sharing. This revenue sharing is going to kill G5 and lower teams and probably also lead to the loss of a lot of non revenue sports at all schools.
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Here is a good basic level set of what AI says about the House settlement. This should be a good starting point for anyone not familiar with this.
The “House settlement” in the NCAA context refers to a landmark legal agreement reached in the lawsuit “House v. NCAA,” where former college athletes sued the NCAA claiming they were wrongly denied compensation for the use of their name, image, and likeness (NIL), resulting in a settlement where the NCAA will pay billions of dollars in backpay to eligible athletes, primarily football and basketball players, and establish a system for future athletes to share a portion of school revenue through a revenue-sharing model; essentially marking a significant shift towards athlete compensation in college athletics.
Key points about the House settlement:
- Backpay for past athletes:
The primary component involves a large sum of money (around $2.8 billion) to be distributed to former athletes who played from June 15, 2016, onwards, as compensation for lost NIL opportunities.
- Revenue-sharing model:
Moving forward, the settlement allows schools to directly share a percentage of their athletic revenue with current and future athletes, creating a new system for athlete compensation beyond NIL deals.
- Impact on Power Five schools:
The majority of the payout is expected to go to athletes from Power Five conferences, particularly football and men’s basketball players, due to their higher revenue generation potential.
- Legal implications:
This settlement could significantly change the landscape of college athletics by potentially paving the way for further athlete compensation beyond the traditional “amateurism” model.
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Yeah im tracking all of that in terms of the gutting at the G5 and below. I dont like it, but the weekly watching from my perspective, as well as my rooting interests, dont care one iota. I really dont see the salary cap changing the landscape all that much either. The “Have’s” are still going to have the NIL carrot to dangle. The others are still going to be trying to fight for the scraps. I think NIL has leveled the playing field by creating a deeper pool from which the playoff teams/Nat Champ comes…but its definitely created a dividing line between the teams that can and cant. It used to be that the Nat Champ would come from a pool of about 3-5 teams. That now is somewhere in the 10-12 range. The difference is the hill from those 10-12 to the rest of the country has gotten much steeper
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I have a 10am meeting. Ill get to this as soon as its over. Solid way to burn thru the pre-Holiday day
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Yeah, the understanding I have is that it will allocate each program around $20 mil that they can use how they choose as far as athlete compensation. It also speaks of “doing away with the “pay for play” concept”. But thats not happening. Theoretically, NIL isnt allowed to be set up that way right now…but it most definitely is. Ive heard pundits speak as if this cap is going to assist in clearing up the muddy waters, which I dont see at all. Its going to ensure that every program has a $20 mil account to use, but its basically giving the big boys an additional $20 mil to use on top of what they already. People with the impression that this cap will put Baylor on par with Oregon in terms of spending are completely misguided.
Well first off there is no allocation. Schools are just going to be allowed to do revenue sharing up to a certain amount ($20.5M is the expected amount next year). They have to come up with the money themselves. Of course this is happening at the same time that schools are going to get their first ever playoff payouts so that is what most schools expect to use for revenue sharing. Problem there is SEC and B1G are getting enough playoff payout to cover their revenue sharing ($21M), however the Big 12, ACC and ND are only getting $12-13M. RA is reporting that are going to do the full revenue sharing allowed so we must be coming up with that extra $8M+ somewhere. The NIL portion of the House settlement is really murky though. I need to do more research on that.
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I worded it poorly and shouldnt have used the word allocation.
I just dont see how this helps alleviate any of the NIL advantages that already exist.
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NIL is a part of the settlement, but it is loosely defined. Here is one interpretation:
The settlement’s new revenue-sharing model will require schools to implement stricter controls over the distribution of NIL payments to ensure compliance with legal and regulatory frameworks. Schools will need to be prepared to take on greater responsibility in managing and overseeing NIL payments to ensure compliance with evolving regulations and rules.
Yeah…thats not getting us any closer to what we all want, which is more competitive balance. Personally, I couldnt care less about NIL. That toothpaste is out of the tube. The ONLY way to achieve some sort of balance is by limiting the transfer portal options. Today, NIL is abused in large part due to the immediate eligibility of the portal, which creates an absolute Free Agent model. If you institute some sort of limit on the portal, such as waiting a year to become eligible, you instantly reduce the amount of transfers leaving. If Johnny Ringo blossoms into a Pass Rushing nightmare or is a run stuffing DT while playing at Oklahoma St, he can hit the portal and go to the highest bidder. Suitors would be lined up. If that same player had to sit a year before becoming eligible…not so much. The player wouldnt have the same desire to leave and the suitors wouldnt be near as quick to try and poach a kid who cant give you a return on your investment for a year.
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Yeah problem is the powers that be benefit to much from that so it won’t change much if at all. At least this is a step in the right direction. A breakaway super conference would also help some and it expected to happen in the near future.
I disagree. The “powers that be” also benefit from the NIL setup. Even though its being taken advantage of, I dont think ANYONE involved likes the NIL structure and what its doing to the rosters of these places. The Ohio St’s and Bama’s of the world dont want to have to navigate the NIL waters, but they do so because thats how the game is played now. If there was a way to curb some of that, I absolutely think the programs would be willing to do it. Youre never going to be able to go back on NIL. Its here to stay and should be in order to compensate these players. Thats done. But the portal…you can. And I think its the lone way to curb some of this roster movement.
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My 2 cents: We are 3-8. We are coached by a man who hates NIL. We were already at a disadvantage before those two factors are thrown in. None of this discussion matters at a school who refuses to take the sport seriously.
Carry on!
Almost all of the coaches hate NIL. Doesn’t mean he is not going to use it now that it has become the norm. Why not keep the Gundy hate to the thread it belongs in.
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Fair enough.
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I’m excited for the House settlement simply for the fact that something has to change and any reform toward a more uniform standard is positive.
However, I’m skeptical that in the long run anything will change. Capitalism (free markets) always favors those who have the funds to capitalize. If anything, I just think this opens the door for athletes to earn more - which could increase the discrepancy over time.
Absent of enforcing an NIL cap, I like the transfer portal idea as a way to introduce friction in the free agent market.
We might be headed towards player contracts too.
Let’s not kid ourselves - college football is a professional sport, so they might as well go ahead and adopt the NFL’s business model.
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I agree with a bunch of that. I just know the NIL is here to stay. Period. So within that, how do we try to get the roster hopping every year limited as much as we can. Seeing as no one will allow you to touch the money……you have to adjust the portal. The portal alone isn’t bad. NIL alone isn’t either. It’s the marriage of those two that has made this so awful. Fix the fixable……which is the portal.
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I actually agreed with your idea of having to sit for a year the second time you hit the portal and mentioned it somewhere. Had a couple that came back with since the athletes are considered students they can transfer as many times as they want ? I don’t agree with that theory they are just students. Hell they are paid amateur athletes. That has to be in consideration of transferring if they sign a contract. Have a contract that can rollover if you want it to