The NCAA and its schools could face a massive payout of over $4 billion in damages if the plaintiffs in the House v. NCAA case win. This has led industry leaders to pursue a settlement to avoid such a heavy financial burden. Last week, power conference commissioners, general counsels, NCAA President Charlie Baker, NCAA lawyers, and plaintiffs’ attorneys met in Dallas to discuss potential settlement details. While no deal is immediate, progress has accelerated in recent weeks and multibillion-dollar settlement may be shared with campuses soon.
The settlement is expected to involve billions in back pay for former athletes and may require the NCAA and conferences to agree on a system for sharing more revenue with players going forward. The top-end revenue share per school is anticipated to be around $20 million annually, although this figure has yet to be finalized. The idea of revenue sharing stemmed from the SEC-Big Ten joint advisory group announced in February, which consists of university presidents/chancellors and athletic directors. This framework aims to address the issue of compensating college athletes for their contributions to the multi-billion-dollar college sports industry.