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NIL

NCAA Roster Caps Could Squeeze Out High School Recruits Under NIL Settlement

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7 months ago

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What had been anticipated for many months, became a reality last Friday when U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken, in Oakland, California, granted final approval of the settlement of three antitrust class action lawsuits brought against the NCAA and each of, what were, its Power 5 conferences (now down to four). The settlement created a $2.8 billion damages pool to make Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) payments to former college athletes, while providing the framework for schools to directly pay current and future college athletes.

In addition to the funds set aside to pay former college athletes, who competed between 2016 and 2024, over the next 10 years, the settlement allows schools to share as much as $20.5 million of their athletic revenues with their student athletes during the upcoming 2025-26 academic year. The revenue sharing cap will grow by 4% each year of the 10-year agreement. In addition, college programs will no longer be limited in how many scholarships they can offer to the athletes on their rosters. If a school so chooses, every athlete on every team it fields, can be offered a full scholarship.

On the flip side, roster sizes have been cut for all but a handful of sports, in an effort, theoretically, to control costs. Discussions around roster limits were the biggest hold up in securing final approval for the settlement, which was agreed to by the lawyers for the plaintiffs and the NCAA in 2024.

One of the reasons the approval of the settlement, which was expected in early April, was delayed until June was to allow the parties to resolve concerns over the proposed cuts to roster sizes.

Estimates on the number of rosters cuts called for under the settlement range between 5,000 and 13,000 across the 43 sanctioned NCAA sports. For example, football programs will be limited to 105 players. Some football programs have carried as many as 180 players with the average roster size being around 125. Men’s basketball has been cut from 17 players to 15, baseball rosters decreased from an average size of 41 to 34. Some sports, mostly on the women’s side, increased.

Arguments seeking to protect the roster spots of student-athletes already on college teams resonated with Judge Wilken. During an April 7th hearing in which various parties were allowed to voice objections to the settlement, the issues revolving around roster limits were the ones which carried weight.

In an April 23rd ruling, Judge Wilken stated, “Because the settlement agreement is not fair and reasonable to the significant number of class members whose roster spots will be or have been taken away because of the immediate implementation of the settlement agreement, the Court cannot approve the settlement agreement in its current form.

“The Court will delay denial of final approval to permit the parties to attempt to modify the settlement agreement so that members of the Injunctive Relief Settlement Class will not be harmed by the immediate implementation of the roster limits provisions. One way of achieving that could be to modify the settlement agreement to ensure that no members of the Injunctive Relief Settlement Class who have or had a roster spot will lose it as a result of the immediate implementation of the settlement agreement. Limits could be accomplished gradually by attrition. There may be other ways of mitigating the harm to members of the Injunctive Relief Settlement Class. A new round of notices to class members may not be required if the parties modify the settlement agreement in a manner that does not adversely affect class members.”

The agreement the parties reached, which ultimately cleared the way for Judge Wilken’s final approval of the settlement, allowed for current college athletes who would not make the cut under the new roster limits, to be classified as “Designated Student-Athletes (DSA),” which, in theory, protects their place on a team’s roster, as an exemption. Athletes with the DSA status will be allowed to remain on their teams and will not count against their program’s roster limit. When all DSAs exhaust their college athletic eligibility, the team will have to fully comply with its mandated roster limit.

“The individual universities have 30 days, and if my math is right, until July 6, to create a list of those designated student athletes from the 2024-25 school year and provide that to class council and their conferences,” said Doug DePeppe, an attorney in the Denver office the Buckalter law firm, which represented several objectors to the settlement, based on the original roster limit provisions. “They have to use good faith and identify those athletes.”

Proposed NCAA Settlement Threatens Non-Revenue Sports: Roster Caps Jeopardize 25,000 D1 Roster Spots

Graduating high school student athletes in the Class of 2025, who were being recruited and/or offered scholarships or walk-on opportunities, are also eligible for the Designated Student Athlete Status.

Those who receive it, most likely owe that opportunity to Gracelyn Laudermilch, a cross country and track star at Northeast Bradford High School in Rome, Pennsylvania.

Laudermilch was set to commit to her dream college. She was not guaranteed a scholarship, but she was assured of a roster spot with an opportunity to earn a scholarship if she could meet certain performance levels, according to a May 14 story by Front Office Sports. When it came time to make her formal commitment, however, her future coach gave her some tough news.

Recent Northeast Bradford High School (PA) graduate Gracelyn Laudermilch provided testimony in the NCAA NIL settlement case.

Recent Northeast Bradford High School (PA) graduate Gracelyn Laudermilch provided testimony that helped some student-athletes in the Class of 2025 receive protections against the roster limits included as part of the NCAA NIL class action settlement. / Gracelyn Laudermilch

“You cannot commit. … I just found out four hours earlier that I have to cut half of my team,” Laudermilch told FOS of her conversation with the coach.

Laudermilch was in a bind, as she had passed on all of her other Division I suitors. After news accounts about the settlement case, she learned she could apply to be an objector, for which, to her astonishment, she was selected. She flew to California to testify before Judge Wilken and, according to many observers, stole the show.

In her passionate testimony, Laudermilch said, “I believe this settlement is unfair. The roster limits destory the hard work and dreams of thousands of student athletes like me all over the nation. By God’s grace, I have been able to reach many of my desired stepping stones: I am a 4x state medalist and an All-American. I hold numerous school records. As a junior, I had met the walk-on and scholarship standards of several D1 schools. As I began my senior year, I was on course to attend my dream college. My 14-year old self would have been so proud.

“But then came the House vs. NCAA case, and all of my plans came to a halt. I had been in contact with five Division I schools and one NAIA school. I went on three college visits and carefully made my decision. My other offer deadlines came. I politely declined them. My dreams, prayers and hopes were becoming my reality. I was so excited to have the opportunity to train in impressive facilities under outstanding coaches and with amazing girls who have the same high goals. I made the call to commit. It was October 30, 2024 at 4 pm. The coach compassionately told me that mere hours earlier she had been informed that their university was opting into the settlement. I hung up the phone and cried.”

According to DePeppe, college coaches will have to make a list of current high school senior athletes which they recruited and submit them for approval on the DSA list.

“Certainly, those who accepted a scholarship will be granted the DSA status,” said DePeppe. “If they were actively being recruited or offered walk-on opportunities, the universities will be required to use good faith to identify them, but the coaches will have some discretion there.”

Unfortunately, no such protections were offered to athletes in the Class of 2026 or beyond. Those student-athletes will experience the full impact the limited Division I opportunities. Those athletes will be forced to move their aspirations to the Division II or III and JUCO levels, possibly taking spots from other athletes who may have found their place at those levels.

In a communication to Kansas University student-athletes, issued on June 7 by Kansas Athletic Director Travis Goff and obtain by High School On SI, Goff explained the impact of the new roster limits.

“With the settlement, most sports will see their rosters reduced, though a couple may see minor increases,” wrote Goff. “There will now be ‘designated student-athletes.’ What this means is that student-athletes that would have been cut from the team due to roster limits will receive special designated status that allows them to not count against any roster limit, whether at KU or another university.

“Over the next several weeks we will be working with conference officials on this designation process and will then communicate with those impacted.”

The College Sports Commission (CSC), which was established immediately after the settlement was announced, to insure enforcement and compliance with the provisions of the settlement, defines a Designated Student Athlete as follows:

Any student-athlete who a school attests was or would have been removed from the school’s 2025-26 roster due to the implementation of roster limits who was either:

There will always be college opportunities for elite high school student-athletes, especially those of the 4- and 5-star variety in football as well as men’s and women’s basketball. But the dawn of the NIL era, which has reached warp speed in the last 2-3 years, had already begun to make being recruited a difficult task for those athletes not as highly regarded as those in the top trier.

The relaxing of transfer rules and the flood of NIL money into big time college athletics, which essential has made every athlete a free agent each and every year of his or her college eligibility, has led to an explosion in the use of the transfer portal.

No longer can a college coach count on a player remaining and developing within a program. If an athlete does not receive enough playing time or believes more NIL money awaits at another program, they can up and leave. Coaches are often faced with fielding an entirely new roster from one season to the next. This has led coaches to hedge on offers to high school athletes not in the top tier, or preferring to recruit a transfer with proven college experience.



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Michigan coaching search: Rece Davis advises Wolverines to keep waiting if they want Kalen DeBoer

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16 minutes ago

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December 24, 2025

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Until Michigan officially hires a head coach, the name Kalen DeBoer is going to be mentioned with the search. Even after DeBoer released statements saying he would stay with Alabama, rumors are out there. Folks in Ann Arbor might have been cheering for Oklahoma on Friday night to potentially speed up the process.

Instead, Alabama is heading to the Rose Bowl to face Indiana on Jan. 1. So, if DeBoer was going to be Michigan’s hire, the wait will continue. Which is exactly what ESPN’s Rece Davis believes the Wolverines should be doing in this situation.

“From Michigan’s standpoint, if that’s the guy you want, wait,” Davis said via the College GameDay Podcast. “If it takes waiting until they finish, if they were to upset Indiana, wait if that’s the guy you want. Why settle? One portal class, one recruiting class is not worth settling for a program like Michigan. Now, I understand the concept that there’s no guarantee you’re going to get him. I get that. But if you are convicted that this is your guy, wait it out. See what happens, push forward.”

If Alabama were to win in Pasadena, the next College Football Playoff date would be Jan. 8 or 9. A run to the national championship means DeBoer would not be done coaching the 2025 season until Jan. 19. But Davis mentions no singular NCAA transfer portal and/or recruiting class is as important as getting the right guy for Michigan.

When it comes down to it, Davis does not think DeBoer will leave Tuscaloosa this offseason. Those released statements were viewed as pretty telling in Davis’s eyes. And at the end of the day, DeBoer is still looking to prove to be the guy who can replace Nick Saban at Alabama.

“I do not think Kalen DeBoer will take the job,” Davis said. “Ultimately, because I don’t think he wants to be perceived as running from what he ran to. Michigan’s a great job. If he does, he does, and great for him if that’s what he decides. I don’t think he will end up doing that. Maybe he will.”

The latest update on where the Michigan coaching search came from On3’s Pete Nakos on Saturday. Nakos outlined who the top candidates are at the moment, mainly after Kenny Dillingham signed an extension to stay in Tempe with the Arizona State Sun Devils not too long ago.



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Damon Wilson ll files countersuit against UGA, claims NIL contract non-binding

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1 hour ago

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December 24, 2025

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Georgia Bulldogs

Wilson’s lawsuit states that UGA’s attempt to collect the $390K lump sum was a ‘strong-arm tactic.’

Damon Wilson II played 417 defensive snaps for UGA during the 2024-25 season. He transferred to Missouri. (Jason Getz / AJC)

Damon Wilson II played 417 defensive snaps for UGA during the 2024-25 season. He transferred to Missouri. (Jason Getz / AJC)

Damon Wilson ll, who transferred from Georgia to Missouri, is suing the University of Georgia Athletic Association and the Classic City Collective claiming the term sheet he signed to remain with the program is not a legally binding agreement.

The 42-page lawsuit, acquired by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution after it was filed in the circuit court of Boone County, Mo. on Tuesday, seeks to grant Wilson relief from UGA seeking a $390,000 lump sum it claims Wilson owes by contract and hold defendants liable for “damages sufficient to compensate him for the financial and reputational harm” suffered.

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Mike Griffith

Mike is in his 10th season covering SEC and Georgia athletics for AJC-DawgNation and has 25 years of CFB experience. Mike is a Heisman Trophy voter and former Football Writers President who was named the National FWAA Beat Writer of the Year in January, 2018.



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$2.5 million QB linked to unexpected college football program

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2 hours ago

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December 24, 2025

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A multitude of college football players are set to look for a new home for the 2026 college football season.

In the weeks before the NCAA transfer portal opens, quarterbacks across college football have expressed their desire to explore new destinations. These quarterbacks include DJ Lagway of Florida, Sam Leavitt of Arizona State, Josh Hoover of TCU and Brendan Sorsby of Cincinnati.

One intriguing name in the portal quarterback is former Nebraska signal caller Dylan Raiola. He will enter the transfer portal with two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Raiola is expected to command around $2.5 million in NIL compensation from whatever school he lands at.

One school that has entered the sweepstakes for Raiola is Louisville. Steve Wiltfong of On3 mentioned the possibility of Raiola joining the Cardinals in a recent edition of “Wiltfong Whiparound.”

Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola

Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola (15) runs off after scoring a touchdown against USC | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

“They can be a program to keep an eye on for Dylan Raiola,” Wiltfong said.

In the three seasons Jeff Brohm has coached at his alma mater, Louisville has not started a quarterback it recruited from high school.

Former Purdue and California quarterback Jack Plummer transferred to Louisville and started for the Cardinals in 2023. The Cardinals acquired a former Oregon and Texas Tech quarterback from the portal to be their starter in 2024. Brohm brought in former USC quarterback Miller Moss to be the Cardinals’ starter in 2025.

The 6-foot-3, 230-pounder arrived at Nebraska as a freshman in 2024 as one of the highest-rated recruits in the country. Raiola started all 13 games for the Cornhuskers and set a program record for passing yards by a freshman with 2,819 yards to go along with 13 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions.

He guided Nebraska to its first bowl win since 2015 with a defeat of Boston College (20-15) in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl.

A broken fibula cut Raiola’s 2025 season short after nine games in early November. He passed for 2,000 yards, 18 touchdowns and six interceptions in his abridged season with the Cornhuskers.

Nebraska (7-5, 4-5) will face No. 15 Utah (10-2, 7-2) in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl on Dec. 31 to end the season (3:30 p.m. EST, ESPN).



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$1.6 million QB linked to College Football Playoff program

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3 hours ago

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December 24, 2025

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Miami finished the regular season 11–2 and earned a berth in the expanded College Football Playoff, advancing with a 10–3 first-round win over No. 7 Texas A&M.

The No. 10 Hurricanes will face No. 2 Ohio State on December 31 in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, with the winner advancing to face the victor of the No. 6 vs. No. 3 Georgia matchup in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

With the Hurricanes set to lose starter Carson Beck after the season and the remaining depth chart made up of quarterbacks with limited in-game experience in Emory Williams and Judd Anderson, speculation has grown that Miami could pursue a proven signal caller in the transfer portal.

On December 19, Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong named NC State quarterback CJ Bailey as a potential option, despite Bailey not yet entering the transfer portal amid growing speculation that he could do so in the coming weeks.

“CJ Bailey, not in the portal, but a South Florida native. That’s a name that people bring up as a potential transfer portal option following his season and his upcoming bowl game,” Wiltfong said.

“Miami is another program that will be a major domino in the transfer portal deal.”

NC State Wolfpack quarterback CJ Bailey.

Tampa, FL, USA; NC State Wolfpack quarterback CJ Bailey (11) throws a pass against the Memphis Tigers in the first quarter during the Gasparilla Bowl at Raymond James Stadium. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Bailey, a Hollywood, Florida, native, posted one of the more efficient quarterback seasons in the FBS in 2025, throwing for 3,105 yards, 25 touchdowns, and nine interceptions on 68.8 percent passing, while adding 215 rushing yards and six scores on the ground.

His 6-6, 210-pound frame and pocket mobility make him a high-upside, starter-ready option for Power Five programs.

Before arriving at NC State, Bailey starred at Chaminade-Madonna High School, where he was rated a four-star recruit and the No. 29 quarterback in the 247Sports Composite rankings for the 2024 cycle.

He held nearly a dozen scholarship offers, including Georgia Tech, Indiana, Louisville, Texas A&M, and Miami.

On3’s NIL trackers list Bailey’s current valuation at around $1.6 million, a notable asset for a program like Miami that can combine institutional NIL collectives with local South Florida opportunities.

Bailey’s hometown ties, starter-ready tape, recruiting familiarity, and Miami’s ability to offer larger third-party NIL packages and local marketing opportunities together create a plausible mutual fit for a portal move.

Read More at College Football HQ

  • Unexpected college football program among favorites for $2 million transfer QB

  • Major college football QB expected to ‘command’ up to $5 million in transfer portal

  • Major college football team reportedly does not have ‘any interest’ in $2.4 million QB

  • No. 1 college football team predicted to sign $2.1 million transfer QB



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The Clemson Insider

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4 hours ago

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December 24, 2025

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ESPN personality Paul Finebaum has had plenty to say about Clemson and head coach Dabo Swinney over the course of the Tigers’ disappointing 2025 campaign.

This time, Finebaum attempted to sum up Swinney succinctly.

AL.com asked Finebaum for a single word to describe various college football coaches, including Swinney, following the 2025 regular season.

Finebaum’s word for the Tigers’ longtime head man?

“Grandpa,” Finebaum said.

Swinney, now finishing up his 18th season (and 17th full season) as Clemson’s head coach, is only 56 years old.

But of course, Finebaum’s “grandpa” description wasn’t centered around Swinney’s age. Rather, Finebaum was presumably referring to Swinney’s hesitancy to adapt to modern college football.

Finebaum has made it clear he believes Swinney’s reluctance to adapt to the changing college football landscape — specifically regarding NIL and the transfer portal — has caused his program to fall behind the times.

“It’s a very big factor, because he finally began to shift a little bit in the last year or two, but it was almost too late,” Finebaum said in late October. “And it’s really sad for me to say this, because I think everybody on this panel respects Dabo Swinney and appreciates that he has been one of the great coaches of this era, but that’s gone. It goes very quickly nowadays. And I think what’s even more irritating to that fanbase is he just keeps going to the well trying to live off of what he used to do, and unfortunately in college football, that doesn’t matter, especially if you don’t change. He did not change, and frankly, it’s too late.”

Finebaum has sounded off a lot on Swinney this year, with his team failing to live up to lofty expectations as the No. 4 team in the preseason AP Poll and a projected national title contender.

Following Clemson’s loss to Syracuse on Sept. 20 that dropped the Tigers to 1-3 for the first time ever under Swinney, Finebaum said he believed “it’s over” for Swinney at Clemson and “it’s time for him to go.” Finebaum suggested that Swinney should either leave Clemson to coach at another school, or become an analyst on TV like former coaches such as Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher.

“I think it’s over at Clemson. Let’s quit trying to sugarcoat it,” Finebaum said. “Sometimes it’s very difficult to get it back when you’ve lost it. He lost it, he got it back, now he’s lost it again and he’s lost it badly. It’s time for him to go.”

Following a 3-5 start to this season, Clemson bounced back to finish the regular season on a four-game winning streak to go 7-5 and become bowl eligible for a 27th consecutive season.

Swinney’s Tigers are now set to take on Penn State (6-6) in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx on Dec. 27 (noon, ABC).    



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Why Bear Alexander and Poncho Laloulu Pass on NFL Draft is a Quiet Win for Oregon’s NIL Strategy

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5 hours ago

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December 24, 2025

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For years, NIL has often been framed as college football’s necessary evil — a chaotic marketplace blamed for roster churn, tampering fears, and short-term thinking. At Oregon, however, NIL is increasingly serving a different purpose. It’s not just reshaping how the Ducks build their roster, it’s reshaping how long they can keep it together.

Since the end of the regular season, two high-profile juniors on the Oregon roster have made decisions that quietly underscore that shift. Defensive lineman Bear Alexander announced first that he would return for the 2026 season. Shortly after, offensive lineman Iapani Laloulu, better known as “Poncho,” followed suit. Both will return to Eugene for their final seasons of eligibility.

Both decisions likely don’t happen four years ago at Oregon. Here’s why.



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