Sports Illustrated
December 23, 2024
By: Douglas DePeppe and Brandon Leopoldus
“The ongoing mania about college sports and athlete NIL compensation has largely missed a significant travesty about to impact a substantial number of Olympic Sport athletes. A federal judge is set to approve a sweeping, multi-billion-dollar settlement between the NCAA and certified classes of D1 college athletes arising from NCAA prohibitions against NIL monetization by college athletes. The upshot from this lawsuit and proposed settlement will be a complex new system of NIL payments from D1 universities to their athletes, although nearly all of the money will go to just three revenue-producing sports (football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball). Yet, a different aspect of the proposed settlement – roster caps for all D1 sport teams – has not received adequate attention. An analysis by ESPN online magazine asserts that as many as 10,000 D1 roster spots, across all NCAA sports, could be lost! Further, it is unknown whether smaller D1 schools will drop certain nonrevenue sports altogether. Our analysis suggests the athlete cuts at D1 schools could be as high as 25,000.”
To read the full article, click here.