Russell Report: The landscape of the NCAA has changed with its $2.8 billion lawsuit settlement
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) - Maybe you missed it. Maybe you didn’t understand it. But know this...The amateurism model that has existed for decades in college athletics is no more. It’s gone. All of the power conferences and the NCAA agreed to a settlement of $2.8 billion in the house versus NCAA lawsuit which will allow past athletes to be paid for prior restrictions on what they could earn from use of their name, image and likeness while also setting up a future revenue sharing model as well. Some predict student athletes will receive about $20 million from the power four schools.
How this will look isn’t exactly clear. Many believe roster sizes will increase and there could be unlimited scholarships in the offing as well. But what about the smaller conferences? It doesn’t look good for them. They will apparently pay a disproportionate share...The NCAA is going to come up with the settlement money in part by decreasing revenue distributions to member conferences. The power conferences are set to pay about 24% of the bill while the smaller conferences will have to pay around 36%. How will they come up with that money? Will they have to cut sports?
And what about Title IX implications? Will non-revenue producing sports be reduced or cut? There are reportedly going to be roster caps, especially in football. How does a coach recruit a 2025 class with so many questions about revenue hanging out there? What is the future of collectives and what will their roles be? Will universities themselves now be on the hook for paying the money to the athletes? And what will congress now do, if anything, to create legislation surrounding all of this? The settlement made here is game changing, but the implementation of all of this is still a huge work in progress.
As a kid, I thought athletes were indestructible. Your heroes always came out on top, no matter what. Well, athletes are human just like you and me, and the golf world today is still mourning the death of Grayson Murray, who died according to his family by committing suicide at the age of 30. He was in the Charles Schwab Tournament just last weekend but withdrew Friday with what the PGA said was an illness. It was much more than that. Murray has battled with mental health and alcohol issues in the past, but he was also a two-time winner on the tour. He played a round of golf on Friday and took his life the next day...It just makes you realize that a score, a game, a win or a loss takes a poor second when it comes to a human life and the unspeakable grief his family must be going through now.
Finally, the Gator Softball team earns another trip to the College World Series by winning the championship game of the Gainesville Super Regional. A great job by Coach Tim Walton and his team and lots of credit to a tough Baylor team as well that fell just short. And, with all of the issues surrounding Gator Baseball this year, they have somehow made the postseason...It’s a brand new start and we’ll see what the gators can do with it. Hope you are enjoying your Memorial Day holiday...Please remember those who are serving our country now and those that served in the past...A salute to you! I’m Steve Russell, that’s the Russell Report!
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