NIL

Tony Vitello on House settlement: ‘Dumbest thing I’ve ever been involved in my life’

The long-awaited approval of the $2.8 billion House settlement was passed, allowing universities to pay their players directly. This sweeping change took five years to complete and was largely hung up on roster limitations, among other minor details. Tennessee Volunteers baseball coach Tony Vitello provided a brief statement on the House Settlement’s approval. His response, […]

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The long-awaited approval of the $2.8 billion House settlement was passed, allowing universities to pay their players directly. This sweeping change took five years to complete and was largely hung up on roster limitations, among other minor details.

Tennessee Volunteers baseball coach Tony Vitello provided a brief statement on the House Settlement’s approval. His response, directly following Saturday’s 4-3 loss to Arkansas in the Fayetteville Super Regionals, may surprise you.

“Yeah, I don’t have anything specific. Tight game, so we’ll look back and see how I can do a better job,” Vitello said during his opening statement. “I know it was good to get to the park today. That deal last night (House settlement) was the dumbest thing I’ve ever been involved in my life. And I lived at the Lake of the Ozarks one summer. So it was just good to get here and play, get the series underway.”

It’s unclear based on Vitello’s initial vague comments whether he’s referring to his involvement in the matter, it’s prolonged outcome, or the contents of the settlement itself. Either way, it appears he’s glad that it’s over.

The overall response to the settlement has been a positive one, as it ushers in a new era with NIL in college athletics. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey provided a statement of his own on behalf of the entire conference on Friday.

“The approval of the House settlement agreement represents a significant milestone for the meaningful support of our student-athletes and a pivotal step toward establishing long-term sustainability for college sports, two of the Southeastern Conference’s priorities,” Sankey said in a statement following the settlement. “As the journey to modernize collegiate sports continues, we remain focused on identifying and implementing innovative opportunities for our student-athletes across all sports while maintaining the core values that make collegiate athletics uniquely meaningful.”

The fallout from the approval will see schools be able to share $20.5 million with athletes beginning July 1. Football will receive 75% of the allotted amount, followed by men’s basketball (15%), women’s basketball (5%) and the remainder of the institution’s sports (5%). It’s expected that power conference football programs will have between $13 to $16 million to spend on rosters for the upcoming season.

Moreover, the NCAA will have to pay $2.776 billion in back damages over the next decade to former college athletes who had competed after 2016. The aforementioned roster limits and new NIL clearinghouses were all a part of the settlement as well.



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