Last Updated on July 24, 2024
As landmark changes to the structure of NCAA sports continue, Tuesday’s meeting with power conference commissioners resulted in “all kinds of opportunities,” including millions of dollars in additional scholarships for athletes.
As a part of the new revenue-sharing model, restrictions to by-sport scholarships will be eliminated, allowing athletic departments to offer scholarships to the entirety of their rosters. While schools do not have to provide full scholarships to every player on their roster, all sports can distribute partial scholarships to players as well as continue offering walk-on spots.
These additional scholarships will primarily benefit athletes in revenue-generating sports like football that have explicitly increased roster size limits. However, the details regarding roster sizes of other sports that will be seeing increases in scholarship slots are expected by Friday upon the agreement of the landmark settlement of antitrust cases such as the House v. NCAA lawsuit.
Does this apply to all sports?
Plaintiff attorneys confirm that no sport will experience a reduction in scholarship slots. The agreement states that roster limits must be set at or more than current scholarship restrictions for each sport. But the truth is, not all programs can afford to add so many additional scholarships.
The solution? Some programs have begun “tiering” their sports. Other programs will be forced to make staff and salary cuts, and reduce scholarships from Olympic sports, such as swimming, that generate little to no revenue.
Regarding Title IX, any scholarship increases in a men’s sport will likely require replication to a women’s sport, resulting in additional costs. Additional women’s scholarships may be necessary to maintain compliance with Title IX requirements in the new revenue-sharing model.
Another major change is that all sports will be considered “equivalency sports.” Sports like football and basketball are considered “head-count sports,” requiring scholarship players to receive a full grant. Changing all sports to “equivalency sports” will allow partial scholarships to be distributed among rosters.
What do the new roster limit increases look like?
The new roster limit figures will be finalized once the House v. NCAA settlement occurs. But here is what some of the roster limit scholarship increases look like.
Current Roster Limit Restrictions:
Football – 85
Baseball – 11.7
Softball – 12
Volleyball- 12
New Roster Limit Increases:
Football – 105
Baseball – 34
Softball – 25
Volleyball – 18
Just in these five sports alone, we are looking at over 60 additional scholarships available to be distributed across rosters. Again, schools are not required to provide every player a scholarship, but this opens the door for millions of additional dollars to be put towards scholarships for NCAA athletes.
While football has an increase of 20 scholarships rounding out to 105 scholarships, teams will have to be at or below that number until the start of the competitive season. This gives coaches additional flexibility to go beyond that number during preseason camp.
The Price Tag
With the annual revenue sharing cap expected to begin around $21.5 million, programs are preparing to spend an additional $3 million to $7 million in scholarships each year. For some top programs, the combination of scholarship additions and revenue sharing with athletes is looking to exceed $30 million a year. Over the next three years, the annual revenue-sharing cap will steadily increase to nearly $25 million but may continue to fluctuate as revenues increase.
The new revenue-sharing compensation model is proving to come with a hefty price tag. Estimates for the 10-year settlement can cost each power school as much as $300 million over the decade, pricing out at $30 million each year. Of course, these figures are based on the assumption that schools meet the revenue distribution cap for athletes, expected to begin at around $21.5 million.
The $30 million per year price tag is about 20% of the average athletic department budget of Power 4 conference schools.
The Impact of the House v. NCAA Settlement
The proposed House Settlement, expected to be filed Friday, would confirm specific details requiring the NCAA to pay out nearly $2.77 billion in back damages to former athletes who were once prohibited from profiting off of their name, image, and likeness. This settlement also includes a revenue-sharing model set to begin in the 2025-26 academic year that requires schools to pay up to $20 million directly to their athletes, per year.
As athletic departments anxiously await the final approval of the House settlement terms, they brace for the financial impact that will come alongside the business of NCAA athletics. They are also evaluating potential cost-cutting measures to make these new implementations possible.
