College football has taken another significant step as the NCAA and Power 5 have agreed on a major change that should leave players looking forward to next season.
The aforementioned entities are now set to allow schools to pay their athletes for the first time.
That is according to ESPN’s Dan Murphy and Pete Thamel. They reported that the governing body and its Power 5 schools have agreed to a revenue-sharing program. It will permit every school to share around 20 million with players annually.
Per the agreement, the NCAA will also pay current and former college football players $2.7 billion in damages for the past 10 years.
“The five autonomy conferences and the NCAA agreeing to settlement terms is an important step in the continuing reform of college sports that will provide benefits to student-athletes and provide clarity in college athletics across all divisions for years to come,” NCAA president Charlie Baker and the five Power 5 commissioners said in a statement.
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A New Day For College Football’s Power 5
All Power 5 players now stand to earn a living while in college, as getting paid to play will no longer be a luxury only NIL athletes enjoy.
However, schools will have to figure out how to distribute the funds among their players now that there is essentially a cap ensuring parity.
Still, the agreement does not erase the pending legal issues that have drastically changed the business of college football and college sports in general.
Athletes and their representatives are still involved in a battle to become employees or to find other ways to collectively bargain in the future.
This latest development is likely to relieve the NCAA of some of its responsibility regarding antitrust litigation. It’s certainly a step in the right direction.
Also Read: REPORT: College Football ‘Super League’ Being Proposed To Replace NCAA
