A landmark legal settlement is set to revolutionize college athletics, marking a major shift away from the NCAA’s long-standing model of amateurism.
For the first time, Division I schools are now able to make direct payments to student-athletes for the use of their name, image and likeness.
In the first year, colleges will be able to distribute $20.5 million—a figure that represents 22% of a school’s average annual revenue from media rights, sponsorships and ticket sales. That total will increase by 4% each year for three years. After three years, the cap will be adjusted based on market conditions and revenue trends, potentially rising to nearly $33 million in the next decade.
As Business Report writes in its latest cover package, the settlement’s ramifications don’t begin and end with revenue sharing, though. Some $2.8 billion in back pay will also be distributed to athletes who either fully or partially missed out on NIL payments between 2016 and 2024 because of the NCAA’s previous rules, and third-party NIL deals will be subject to far more stringent levels of scrutiny going forward.
Keli Zinn, COO and executive deputy director for LSU athletics, says the school is meeting the moment head on.
“This is going to be the biggest impact in the history of college athletics … and we’ve done a really good job of making sure we’re prepared for everything that’s changing,” Zinn says.
That preparation touches nearly every aspect of LSU athletics, from budgeting to recruiting to gender equity.
Read the full story for a deep dive on six areas of impact, and send comments to editor@businessreport.com.
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