The NCAA Board of Governors voted on Wednesday to accept the settlement with plaintiffs in the history-making House v. NCAA antitrust case.
The NCAA and all 32 of its Division I conferences are expected to pay thousands of athletes $2.8 billion in retroactive NIL payments and broadcast revenue over a 10-year period. This opens the door for universities to share as much as $22 million per year for its athletes.
Many have voiced they opinions on the ground-breaking settlement, and Notre Dame president John I. Jenkins has shared his thoughts on the matter as well.
“The settlement, though undesirable in many respects and promising only temporary stability, is necessary to avoid what would be the bankruptcy of college athletics,” Jenkins wrote in a statement obtained by Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger.
“To save the great American institution of college sports, Congress must pass legislation that will preempt the current patchwork of state laws; establish that our athletes are not employees, but students seeking college degrees; and provide protection from further antitrust lawsuits that will allow colleges to make and enforce rules that will protect our student-athletes and help ensure competitive equity among our teams.”
The settlement was expected, as the NCAA now avoids to pay a damages bill totaling north of $4 billion, including a loss of broadcast revenue shares.
The power conferences will pay 40 percent of the $2.8 billion of the backpay that will then be dispersed to college athletes. 60 percent will come from the other conferences outside of the power conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC).
This decision will help create what will essentially become a revenue-sharing pot where schools can then distribute to their athletes. A goal of 22 percent of annual revenue will be dispersed by the power conferences.
Many questions still remain. Does the settlement provide the NCAA legal protection? Is the settlement even officially approved yet? What about the other lawsuits against the NCAA such as Carter and Hubbard? Where does Title IX fit into all of this? On3’s Eric Prisbell recently broke down all the questions that still remain after the settlement, and what the next steps are for the NCAA and its student athletes in those respects.
How this effects Notre Dame and their independence from NCAA conferences remains to be seen. If one thing is for sure, however, the Fighting Irish president has a strong stance on the matter.
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