Private equity keeps inching closer to college sports, and now has a bit more certainty around its modeling.
Driving the news: A federal judge on Friday approved a settlement that sets the stage for schools to pay their student-athletes.
- Each school will be allowed to share up to $20.5 million in revenue, mostly with football players. That cap is expected to rise annually.
- The settlement also provides $2.8 billion in restitution to former student-athletes, and allows schools to create mechanisms to limit the influence of outside boosters and “collectives” — although questions remain about the effectiveness and enforcement of such oversight.
- For more context, check out our Axios BFD conversation last fall with NCAA president Charlie Baker.
George Finn, senior transactional attorney at Rose Law Group who handles NIL deals for athletes, tells RLGR: “I see this settlement as a transformative moment that brings long-overdue structure and legitimacy to student-athlete compensation, enabling sustainable growth, attracting institutional investment, and positioning the college sports industry for unprecedented innovation and opportunity.”
