While some of the biggest names in collegiate sports will begin to cash in with the new NCAA settlement, other athletes and teams will pay the price.
The $2.8 billion settlement, approved by a federal judge June 6, will allow participating schools to share up to $20.5 million with student athletes. Beginning in July, the money will mostly flow toward the high-revenue sports like basketball and football, with the vast majority going toward the latter.
However, this leaves those who don’t play Division 1 football at risk for their futures.
“My initial thought was, is this good or bad? What does this mean for me? How does this affect me? But more importantly, in the bigger picture, how does it affect athletes as a whole?” asked Sabrina Ootsburg, a track and field athlete at Belmont University, to AP News.
It affects women athletes like Ootsburg and those in lesser-publicized sports by potentially eating away at their own experiences. With a wide share of players splitting a significantly smaller pot and less support from their schools, this can result in vast resource differences.
“You look at the numbers where it says most of the revenue, up to 75% to 85%, will go toward football players. You understand it’s coming from the TV deals, but then it’s like, how does that affect you on the back end?” Ootsburg asked. “Let’s say $800K goes toward other athletes. Will they be able to afford other things like care, facilities, resources, or even just snacks?”
Furthermore, athletes are learning these developments as they roll out, with colleges offering little clarity on what this means to more vulnerable teams. Even coaches are unclear on how the NCAA settlement will lead to changes in the athletic department.
This issue will also uniquely affect athletic programs at HBCUs. According to HBCU Gameday, several schools have already opted into the settlement. However, given HBCUs’ historically limited resources, the institutions will have to grapple with the new financial commitment to their athletes.
“It is now allowable for institutions to directly give NIL money to their student-athletes,” explained Commissioner Charles McClelland. “That means there’s going to be an influx of athletes that are looking for NIL payments. You’re going to have to have some name, image and likeness money set aside to compete.”
The SWAC conference, with members such as Alabama A&M and Florida A&M University, has already started to speak with schools on building sustainable Name-Image-Likeness (NIL) deals to keep up with the evolving collegiate sports.
“We are in a good spot from a revenue standpoint; we’re going to be just fine, but it will take some additional effort,” added McClelland. “We will need NIL dollars on the inside, and we will work with you to help develop that.”
However, taking part in this settlement also means adhering to scholarship and roster regulations. These cuts could also impact how many student-athletes at HBCUs can keep their spots.
Now, the fate of athletes across all sports and backgrounds lies in the hands of the schools. How they intend to handle the evolution of collegiate sports may impact women athletes and non-revenue teams for years to come.
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