NCAA Football Is Now Openly Pro Football

Other Leagues and Sports
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The 100-page agreement filed in the Northern District of California provides more details on terms of the settlement, which involves three class-action lawsuits, most notably the House v. NCAA. The newest and most consequential details include roster-size limits beginning with the 2025-26 seasons, which were determined by power conference commissioners earlier in the week, and unlimited scholarships in all sports. The agreement also sets the stage to share up to 22% of total revenues to future athletes and the establishment of a clearinghouse to help govern name, image and likeness deals.

Football rosters will be limited to 105 players, resulting in as many as 20 additional scholarships beyond the current scholarship restrictions (85), sources told CBS Sports. With unlimited scholarships, baseball teams will be able to provide as many as 34 scholarships to players, an increase from the 11.7 “equivalency” among 27 players allowed today. Softball will jump from 12 to 25.

:thinking:
It sounds to me here like the fast-track for the Super League for football by the SEC and Big Ten plus a few other choice programs, for they will simply now hog all the great or good players.

Former athletes will be paid $2.78 billion in back payments over the next 10 years. The new structure for revenue-sharing with future players will be capped at 22% of the average total revenue generated at schools in eight categories reported in the NCAA’s Membership Financial Reporting System. Those revenue categories include ticket sales and media rights. That should amount to nearly $22 million annually, which will increase 4% annually, with further re-evaluations built in after the first, fourth and seventh years of the 10-year agreement. Should the parties agree that revenues have changed substantially between those dates, a yearly evaluation is possible.

So now basically it is with the noted federal court to approve the settlement or reject it and offer guidance for amendment.

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As noted when this thread was started, not only has NCAA Football been openly pro football, but the sums being paid to present players, and to be paid to also recent past players since 2016, are vast.

I take special delight now whenever I see some formerly smug ESPN or other college football media type interviewing players, no longer in a condescending fashion too, when that player now earns more most of these ESPN and other “college sports” media blowhards who are not a few lead announcers and some excellent writers like Dennis Dodd and others on CBS Sports, including those who called them “student-athletes” on television as late as 2022.

At least these media blowhard diehards have come around to using the phrase Power Four too.

With a few days for the settlement implications to, well, settle, it’s clear there is a giant hole in the 133-page document. Not one athlete was at the table with a voice when the deal was hammered out.

Call it the NCAA’s lingering paternalism mixed with plaintiffs’ lawyers expertise at firing an arrow to the heart of the NCAA’s model, but that’s a hole too big to ignore. There is $20 billion in revenue sharing alone available for Power Four athletes over the next 10 years.

The proposed settlement is in itself also not without several potential issues, including on the front of equity as cited above.

Sports law attorney Mit Winter, a leading authority on the subject, has even bigger “what if?” Imagine football players themselves organize and demand 75% of the pot. (For context, football makes up for 80% of the worth of the average media rights contract.)

“I think that’s where there is going to be a battle,” Winter told CBS Sports. "I find it very hard to believe very many schools are going to pay out proportionally to their female-male student-body population.

"I could really see Power Four football and basketball saying, ‘We want to make sure that we get a sufficient cut of this $23 million.’ "They could all band together and say, ‘All right, guys, we’re all going to agree our schools cannot give us less than 75% of that $23 million because we’re generating that revenue.’ "

Then there is Title IX and those lawsuits looming.

The Title IX question: Gender equity is perhaps the biggest issue not in the settlement. Title IX, the 50-year-old law mandating educational equality for entities that receive federal funds, will affect almost everything involved in the settlement while not actually being included.

This is another school-by-school decision. The Department of Education has weighed in, according to Trumble, saying Title IX will apply to revenue sharing “but offered no practical guidance.”

Institutions will rely on their lawyers and gender equity offices to form a revenue distribution strategy. There is already talk of schools eliminating or de-emphasizing sports to afford revenue sharing.

You’d better believe there are attorneys lined up like planes on a runway ready to file suit against schools.

Then the list goes on and on in the fine article. I don’t see this matter resolved definitively for perhaps at least two more NCAA seasons.

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Since federal legalization of sports gambling in 2018, no injury reports for the most part have been a serious issue in more than my opinion.

The Big Ten’s athletic directors pushed for a national injury reporting system in 2018 after a U.S. Supreme Court decision paved the way for legalized sports gambling. However, in 2019, the NCAA opted against requiring injury reports citing "the purpose, parameters, enforcement and effectiveness of a player availability reporting model.‘’

When they write “NCAA,” they actually mean SEC, for Nick Saban was leading the charge against them too like against most changes in the game so as to protect his winning model.

The Big Ten became the first Power Five conference to institute a game day availability report during the 2023 season – a move designed to protect the integrity of the game with respect to gambling. The league’s weekly report had two categories for injured players: questionable or out.

This is also another small step to the forseeable Super League to be formed by the SEC and Big Ten, plus a few other big-name schools to be determined, which would be breaking away from the antiquated and corrupt NCAA.

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Didn’t want to start a separate thread so I will put this here and it is related to NCAA athletes or potential athletes getting paid. The NCAA appears to be taking a contradictory stance to reality and what is happening with football for sure and is being sued by junior hockey players. They were expecting this and it looks like they will most certainly lose if the class action is certified, which it should be. The NCAA will be better off to fold on this one and they might just do so.

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You really think the NCAA, assuming you are just speaking of hockey, would fold over this if they lose? …

“But hockey is the third-highest revenue generator at an average of about $2.5 million per school each year, with the top universities peaking around the $5-6 million range.”

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Before you posted this I already edited my post to make it clear that they should fold on this lawsuit. They would hardly fold completely and I didn’t mean to imply that and that is why I changed the post after I read it. You are just too quick for me Aerial!

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Ok, I will take that as a compliment because I think that is the first time in my life someone said I was quick in any respect, assuming you are speaking of grey matter in some respects. :wink:

But yes, maybe in fact they should fold over this as you mention.

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Here’s an interesting side effect for a few super seniors in college football,
after the 2020 COVID season not counting for purposes of eligibility,
all the younger players who have left some teams in free agency,
and medical and other redshirt seasons.

The NCAA has dealt him [a quarterback named Alan Bowman] – and those of his kind – a sort of get-out-eligibility-free card. Bowman is part of sub-classification of hybrid long-haul athletes created by a combination of the transfer portal, one-time transfer rule and COVID-19.

What was once an anomaly is now almost commonplace. One of the most famous lines from Animal House comes from John Belushi – as “Bluto” – reacting to being thrown out of school.

“Seven years of college down the drain,” he lamented.

Now you can’t get rid of 'em.

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They are getting GM’s involved to take the workload off the coaches - and let these guys handle the money side of things - roster management etc.

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NCAA Redshirt Reform and Bowl Games: Paving the Way for The Super League Too

So before this season and until this ruling, a player could play four games for a team and not have it count towards the four years of eligibility. The exception was used for some freshmen who needed development as well as for medical situations that left a player out for the season.

Now after the disaster that is the NCAA postseason with players opting out to leave for the NFL or simply mailing it in for that last game, such as did rightfully those players on undefeated Florida State who got the shaft in 2023, the NCAA has acted to open things up for redshirted players.

Go figure, with the new college football playoff, it is now possible for a player to play up to NINE games in a season and still not have that play count towards a year of athletic eligibility.
:thinking: :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

Now for another motive not mentioned. The NCAA and ultimately the Super League have already built the framework to have more of these paid players play as long as they can do so, which would be effectively about 4.5 seasons with the expanded “red shirt” season, considering the reality each season is that all teams except eight teams will play 14 games or less in a season.

A blanket waiver will exempt postseason games from counting towards redshirt eligibility, the NCAA Division I Oversight Committee announced Tuesday. The new rule, which goes into effect immediately for the 2024 seson still limits redshirting players to four games but will not count conference championship, bowl and College Football Playoff contests toward that number.

Among the biggest reasons for the change are the transfer windows that were implemented during the 2023-24 cycle and opt-outs for the NFL Draft. Florida State, for example, lost more than two dozen players between opt-outs for the NFL Draft and transfer portal during the Orange Bowl after missing the CFP last season. Under these new rules, Florida State redshirts could participate in the bowl game without penalty.

With the new 12-team CFP going into effect this year, teams have the potential to play in up to five postseason contests. That would mean that a player could participate in potentially nine games during a 17-game season without exhausting a year of eligibility.

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University of Texas Freshman Wins Prize Money at US Open

The embattled Diamond Sports Group has struck revised rights deals with both the NBA and NHL, bringing it a significant step closer to emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which it filed in March 2023.

The pacts, which had been expected for several weeks, provide a key base of live content for the Bally Sports parent as it navigates both a troubled macro landscape for regional sports networks and its own internal issues. The agreements, covering the 2024-2025 seasons for both leagues, involve nine NHL teams and 13 NBA teams. They also follow a recently finalized distribution agreement with Comcast, the No. 2 cable carrier in the U.S.

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The implementation of the two-minute warning is just the latest change to clock rules in college football. Last year brought the end of the long-established practice of stopping the clock to move the chains after first downs. The only exceptions are when under two minutes remain in either half.

Essentially, the NCAA rules in the last two minutes of play in each half have been made closer to those of the NFL.

Then there is also this bonus for fans, which I always found annoying in good games aside from most of the commercials that run during college football games:

In fact, NCAA coordinator of officials Steve Shaw noted in March that implementing a two-minute warning will help mitigate the prevalence of back-to-back media timeouts, which can stifle a game’s rhythm and flow.

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THIS is a problem in the gambling industry too that should create interest by federal overseers.

Now this one on a holiday weekend is likely to fly under the radar as a lower-profile game, but I think with the inconsistent use of video review in NCAA Football, we can probably count on something like this mistake creating a stir later this season in a higher-profile game.

Overall here in 2024 this sort of occurrence is utterly shameful, and I smell a rat given the obvious mistake, to which the conference has admitted as well.

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The next step towards the Super League breakaway from the NCAA is tomorrow.

The “big breakaway” now seems to be right around the corner. It’s been hinted at, speculated and discussed for years: a growing possibility of some combination of the power conferences detaching themselves from the current NCAA structure.

The concept has never been more likely. On Thursday, Ninth District judge Claudia Wilken is expected to give preliminary approval to the House v. NCAA settlement. Among the conditions is a tranche of revenue-sharing money that will change college athletics significantly in this already dizzying age.

Schools will be given the option of funding up to 22% of their annual revenue – an average of about $23 million per school – to be set aside annually for athletes for the next 10 years beginning next year. In essence, it is true pay for play … with conditions.

If the separation of FBS isn’t imminent, the mechanisms are definitely in place. The Power Four are already likely to form their own governance structure within the NCAA. How far that authority goes is up for debate.

Also note as heavily overlooked, for the Division I schools with FBS football programs (the top level of play, with FCS next), the House settlement entails an opt-IN for each school.

As can be discussed more another time and is referenced in the article, many schools that will opt OUT will simply keep football and basketball and cut many of their sports that are not considered revenue-generating for the school, including most especially the “Olympic sports.”

Even so, even some of the biggest schools that opt IN will do the very same in order to save money.

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Now after the class-action House lawsuit is in pending settlement, a new wave of former college player lawsuits has begun for those playing before June 2016, starting with former athletes at the University of Michigan suing the NCAA:

Attorney Jim Acho filed the 73-page suit Tuesday morning on behalf of Michigan athletes who concluded their playing careers before June 15, 2016. Acho was quick to note that this lawsuit does not target the Michigan football program or the university but aims to “right a wrong perpetuated on college athletes for decades” by the NCAA.

“This not a suit against the University of Michigan,” Acho told The Detroit News. “None of the many former players wanted to sue UM and neither did I. It is the NCAA that perpetuated this wrong for decades. They knew it was wrong to prevent players from capitalizing on the most valuable thing they have — their name and image. That has been rectified for current players, but the NCAA needs to correct the wrongs of the past. Today is the day for recompense.”

It looks like over the rest of the decade, the NCAA and the Big Ten Network will be paying up even more, but here we go again - the NEW money to pay any OLD debts has to come from somewhere, so hello more gambling deals?

“Numerous former players over the past five decades asked me to file this, and after a lot of research we felt it was absolutely the right thing to do,” Acho said. “I expect former players from other noted football programs will follow our lead and file similar lawsuits.”

The suit argues that the NCAA and Big Ten Network have made money off the performances of Robinson, Edwards, Martin, Crable and other Michigan football players by “broadcasting, advertising, and selling merchandise featuring their performances.” It mentions how Big Ten Network has aired classic Michigan football games for nearly two decades without players ever receiving compensation.

One key to the case that makes it stronger is the recently modern prevalence of conference cable networks until recent years via cord cutting.

Via the entertainment industry, see the case of Dave Chappelle for example, there is legal merit against the notion that any given party can be contracted in perpetuity for profit from their NIL WITHOUT just compensation and consent and then only with restrictions and certain conditions applying, including for expiration of the agreement.

Though many of these developments are in sports and entertainment have been in recent case law, the maxim against contractual perpetuities is an old legal construct, and an attorney in contract law no doubt would know far more.

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Oh well, what do you know, yet another legal hurdle before all the eligible NCAA athletes can be paid via the House settlement:

The State of Montana also apparently wants a word on the matter.

In these regards, I agree with South Dakota and Montana, for as far smaller programs in the NCAA, they would be bearing a disproportionate burden in the settlement as compared to the formerly Power 5 and other large programs in especially football and basketball.

In its current form, the settlement would require non-power conference schools such as South Dakota and South Dakota State to relinquish nearly $1 billion in NCAA distributions over the next decade to pay NIL “back damages” to a class primarily comprised of former football and basketball athletes who played for power conference schools.

What a mess as the matter likely drags out years.

Here’s an inconvenient question:
Just who exactly is going to be watching all that new money coming into universities via new revenue sources from now through 2030 and before the claims are paid!?

Cue the next “scandal(s).”
:unamused:

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It looks like the Pac-12, now the Pac-2, is on track to take the next step to become the Pac-6.

We had some discussion about a year ago on this thread that anticipated such a move after the litigation was over for the remaining schools of the Pac-12 and they secured full rights to the Pac-12 with no compensation due to all the schools who voluntarily departed for greater riches.

The Pac-12 is on the cusp of poaching four Mountain West schools to join Oregon State and Washington State in an effort to preserve the league, according to CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello. Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State and Fresno State are the Mountain West schools expected to apply for membership into the conference. An announcement could come as soon as Thursday.

Those four schools represent arguably the top brands in the legacy Mountain West and schools that have been considered for power conference membership in the past. If the four schools move by the 2026 season, the Pac-12 will only need to add two more programs to reach the minimum eight schools to be an FBS conference.

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They might as well just take the whole conference. Realistically, that’s the only way the PAC is going to expand. Go any further east and you’re into Big 12 country.

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Yes, the talk now is that the new Pac-12 conference has until 2026 to have at least eight teams to be considered a conference / league by the NCAA, but now they already have six of them ready for 2026.

Interestingly as I read in another article, there was a plan to add UNLV, but they did not want to add Nevada (quite far away in Reno from Las Vegas!), but then they learned of political problems in going down that road with the State of Nevada and backed off.