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Those payments would be made to college athletes who claimed they were illegally prohibited from profiting off their name, image and likeness.
In addition, the settlement would also go hand-in-hand with a pledge commitment from conferences and schools to share revenue with athletes. That number could be $20 million per year for an athlete revenue share, per Thamel:
Pete Thamel @PeteThamel
We’ve used the revenue share number $20 million for schools in settlement of House v NCAA/anti-trust lawsuits. Per sources, that’s determined by a specific number — 22-percent — of various Power conference revenues. The revenue buckets/formula are still being discussed.
“Schools will have the opportunity to share millions in revenue with athletes with a spending limit similar to a professional sports team’s salary cap. Estimates put the amount at $17-22 million per program, though the amount could fluctuate. The figure was determined through a percentage (roughly 22%) of an average of Power Four athletic department revenue streams, most notably ticket sales, television contracts and sponsorships — not donations.”
Steve Berman, co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs, expressed confidence on his clients’ leverage in this case.
“Our leverage is a big cannonball rolling down a hill and picking up speed,” Berman said to ESPN. “The longer they wait, the more they’re going to have to pay. It’s that simple.”
The NCAA did not comment when contacted by ESPN.
There are a few different factors at play in this case. For one, the deal may eventually be the “catalyst for the new business model of college sports,” per ESPN.
“They’ve got stuff on paper,” a source told ESPN. “This is not just lawyers and commissioners meeting and having a cocktail. This snowball is moving downhill. The horizon on this is about a month.”
In addition, the case is scheduled to go to trial in January 2025. Per ESPN, an NCAA loss in that case could eventually result in the association paying over $4 billion in damages. Paying $1.3 billion more certainly wouldn’t be ideal for the NCAA, so an out-of-court settlement, on paper, seems like a more palatable conclusion.
Dellenger reported that if a settlement is reached (which he noted isn’t guaranteed), “the revenue-sharing model will begin no sooner than the fall of 2025 and could even be delayed until 2026.”
The plaintiffs in the House vs. NCAA case are arguing that the NCAA “is breaking federal law by placing any restrictions on how athletes make money from selling the rights to their name, image or likeness,” per ESPN.
House is former Arizona State swimmer Grant House. Other plaintiffs include former Oregon basketball star Sedona Prince and ex-Illinois defensive lineman Tymir Oliver.
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