The House vs. NCAA settlement has been central to conversations around college football this offseason. If approved, it could drastically change the sport as we know it.

The settlement covers many facets of college athletics. It certainly impacts the FBS, both the Power Four and the Group of Five, as well as the FCS and other divisions of football and other sports. But details still need to be finalized, and that’s assuming the entire deal doesn’t fall apart or is delayed beyond the upcoming school year.

Here’s more about the House v. NCAA Settlement.

House vs. NCAA Settlement Details

House v. NCAA is a legal case that revolves around the payment of college athletes. Once approved, this would allow schools to pay athletes directly for the first time.

While this does bring even more change to an already chaotic aspect to college sports, some hope that this brings about more stability in the long-term. This, some believe, will allow the NCAA or other governing bodies to enforce more regulations regarding how athletes are paid.

Many schools have already opted into the House settlement, meaning they are on board with how the case shakes out and will eventually pay college athletes directly. 

But some have opted out, meaning they won’t pay athletes themselves. While that will save the schools money, it will likely impact their recruiting efforts and therefore their performance during competitions.

NIL House Settlement Back Pay

The House settlement would result in the NCAA and Division I schools paying $2.78 billion in back pay for students who competed in sports between 2016-24.

The House v. NCAA case materialized after collegiate basketball player Sedona Prince and swimmer Grant House, among other college athletes, filed a lawsuit five years ago saying that the NCAA and the power conferences unified against paying athletes and prevented them from profiting off their names, images, and likenesses (NIL).

Do Schools Opting Out Of The House Settlement Have To Provide Back Pay?

All Division I schools will have to contribute money toward back damages as a result of the House settlement, regardless if they opt into it. However, most or all of that for some schools could be taken out of the money normally disbursed from NCAA events like the NCAA Tournaments in men’s and women’s basketball.

Where House Settlement Money Will Come From

As for the $2.78 billion in back damages, the NCAA is to pay 60% of it while 40% of it will come from schools themselves. That’s to be paid out over 10 years. A good portion of the schools’ payments will come out of money that usually goes to them for NCAA competitions.

Schools can also pay students for NIL rights at a maximum of 22% of annual revenue that comes from broadcast deals and tickets.

How that back pay is dolled out hasn’t been widely publicized, though a vast majority is expected to go to football and basketball players. Specifics are to be hammered out by the plaintiffs in the case.

House v. NCAA Settlement NIL Cap

Several sources estimate a cap for how much schools will pay athletes directly will be established and that number would be $20.5 million per institution. That number would go up about 4% per year.

That wouldn’t be a minimum in this instance, just a maximum.

NCAA vs. House Settlement Update

Many expected the House settlement to have gone into effect by now, but that hasn’t happened yet.

It seemed federal judge Claudia Wilken, who oversaw other cases related to college athletics like O’Bannon v. NCAA, was going to approve the settlement. But after hearing from walk-on athletes who would’ve lost their roster spots, the case hit a roadblock.

The House settlement was going to change scholarship limits to roster limits, meaning many athletes on teams who aren’t on scholarships – also called walk-ons – would no longer be capable of participating on their teams.

Wilken reportedly wants to change these roster limit rules, accounting for current walk-ons and grandfathering them in. At the moment, schools seem unwilling to budge much on this as many had already accounted for the changes they believed were imminent.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Jasmyn Burns’ postseason resume added a significant – and historic – accomplishment on Wednesday afternoon.

Burns was named a first team All-American by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) and in the process joined elite company as she became just the second first team All-American in Ohio State history. Burns joins Anna Smith, who earned her honor 23 years ago in 2002 as an outfielder.

Burns, a sophomore from Menifee, Calif., is also just the third sophomore to earn All-America honors in program history. Lilli Piper (2017) and Sam Marder (2008) are the other two.

Wednesday’s news caps a postseason that saw Burns named a second team All-American by both Softball America and D1Softball. She was also a unanimous first team All-Big Ten honoree and earned first team All-Great Lakes Region honors during a season in which she led the Buckeyes with a .455 batting average, 25 home runs, 1.006 slugging percentage and .540 on-base percentage.

Burns’ 25 home runs set both an Ohio State and Big Ten Conference single-season record. Her 72 RBI were fourth-most in the Big Ten and she was second in the league in OPS (on base percentage + slugging percentage) at 1.546. She had top-10 national rankings in home runs (fourth), home runs per game (sixth – 0.43), slugging percentage (fifth), total bases (fifth – 166) and extra base hits (second – 40).

Burns was also a part of an Ohio State offense that hit a Big Ten-record and nation’s leading 147 home runs in 2025 while leading the country in runs scored (495), runs scored per game (8.25), slugging percentage (.701). Burns had 23 multi-hit games and 18 multi-RBI games over the course of the Buckeyes’ 60-game season, which finished with a 45-14-1 record and appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

The NFCA All-America teams are voted on by the Association’s All-America Committees. In Division I, the committee is composed of one elected member head coach from each of the NFCA’s 10 regions. All student-athletes who were nominated by their member head coach and voted to the first, second or third-team All-Region teams were eligible for All-America consideration.

• Tyon Grant-Foster, a 6-foot-7 wing, is transferring to Gonzaga from Grand Canyon University and seeking an NCAA waiver to play.
• The 25-year-old Grant-Foster was the WAC Player of the Year in 2023-24, leading GCU to their first NCAA Tournament win.

Tyon Grant-Foster apparently is counting on one more Senior Night in his college basketball career.

The No. 11 Clemson Tigers are preparing to face the No. 3 Kentucky Wildcats in the first weekend of the NCAA tournament after falling short in the ACC college baseball championship. 

That’s led to a more adversity-riddled path than a win against the UNC Tar Heels would have awarded the Tigers with a coveted top eight seed.

Two of the pitchers on staff are offering a new way for fans to engage outside of home-field advantage, as the team does not have the opportunity to host a Super Regional if they advance from the regional stages.

Clemson pitchers Aidan Knaak and Justin LeGuernic have accomplished an incredible feat in the NIL space.

Clemson Pitchers Launch First-Ever Student-Athlete NIL Brand

On Tuesday, Knaak and LeGuernic became entrepreneurs and launched their new athlete-owned brand, Cardiak Cats.

The Cardiak Cats hats are available exclusively on their website, with a limited supply of the hats running ahead of the NCAA Regional Tournament.

The limited product launch features their personally designed baseball hats that have a unique style in the spirit of their on-field personalities and fan pride.

The duo came up with the brand name in ode to the exciting, come-from-behind style of play that the Tigers are known for.

“This whole thing started with an idea during a road trip: what if we created something that really felt like us?” Knaak said in a press release. “We wanted a brand that captured the energy of playing in big moments and gave fans something authentic to rally behind.”

 NIL deals can feel robotic sometimes, with star athletes pushing products they might not feel that strongly about. That can’t be said for the product Knaak and LeGuernic are behind.

“We worked hands-on with a design team to make sure every detail felt right,” LeGuernic said. “It’s about more than a hat… it’s about building something from scratch and putting our name behind it, literally.”

Most of the talk in the NIL space focuses on college football and basketball, with the upcoming House v. NCAA settlement expected to bring revenue sharing to schools with those teams prioritized.

College baseball has been lost in the shuffle, and the NIL deals aren’t as readily available or prominent for these players.

Perhaps the pitching duo has stumbled upon a new blueprint for student-athletes.

It’s the first-ever independent student-athlete-owned apparel venture in college sports, making it a historic launch for a quieter sport in the landscape.

There’s an importance in the name, image, and likeness world of knowing one’s branding and how to self-promote. The more student-athletes find avenues to innovate and become entrepreneurs, the better the state of college sports is for it.

DESTIN, Fla. — Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte on Wednesday clarified two issues the football program has made recent headlines for, including a scheduling change request for the season opener against Ohio State and the total amount of NIL money poured into the current roster.

Front Office Sports reported Tuesday that Fox Sports approved Ohio State’s idea of moving the blockbuster Week 1 matchup against Texas on Aug. 30 in Columbus from Saturday’s noon time slot to prime time Sunday night.

Del Conte, speaking to a small group of reporters at SEC spring meetings, confirmed he was approached about moving the game to Sunday night — but shut it down because of the day, not the time.

“Why would I want to move the game to Sunday night and have a short week for our boys who were just told we’re kicking off at high noon?” he said. “It was never about moving the time of day. It was just, ‘Hey do you want to move the day?’ And I go, ‘we’re not moving. We’re contractually obligated to this day.’ That was it, but you know, the craziness is oh my God, they said no. I just said no to Sunday. I gotta go to church. I mean, hot dang.”

Del Conte also refuted a report that the football program spent $40 million to comprise its roster.

“That’s bananas,” he said.

Del Conte said that because of Texas state laws, he doesn’t know how much NIL money is going to football players, but that will change soon if the NCAA settlement is approved.

It will introduce a revenue-sharing model that will allow schools to pay about $20 million directly to players in all sports, with football expected to occupy the bulk of that sum.

Del Conte said Texas will split its revenue share into percentages of 75 (football), 15 (men’s basketball), 5 (women’s basketball) and 5 (other sports).

“If you put it in an ecosystem of two years, that could possibly be it,” Del Conte said of a $40 million football revenue, “but that’s not a number that’s accurate 1748464975.”

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian also refuted the number this week.

“I wish I had $40 million on our roster,” Sarkisian told Sirius XM this week. “We’d probably be a little better team than we are.”