The NCAA approved sweeping and historic changes to the compensation structure of college sports, allowing student-athletes to be paid directly by their schools for the first time.
While expected, this move represents a landmark moment in college sports history. Just five years ago, student-athletes weren’t allowed to make money at all. Now, price tags from school-backed “collectives” can stretch into the millions.
The new rules now permit the schools to pay students directly without having to use outside groups. However, all of this is dependent on the House v. NCAA settlement’s approval, which would set parameters on how revenues would be distributed.
If approved, each school would have about $20.5 million to share with its student-athletes, constituting a salary cap of sorts.