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NIL settlement could mean increased pay to college football and basketball athletes

Virginia Tech's Rodney Brown Jr., right, handles the ball as Duke's Tyrese Proctor (5) defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Durham, N.C., Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024.
Ben McKeown
/
AP
Virginia Tech's Rodney Brown Jr., right, handles the ball as Duke's Tyrese Proctor (5) defends during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Durham, N.C., Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024.

The future of college and university sports is in flux at the moment, stemming from changes on how much money schools can pay athletes. Sometimes referred to as name, image and likeness (NIL) rights, student athletes have increasingly been pushing for more pay, not just scholarships.

College and university sports generate over a $billion a year. Athletes have launched multiple lawsuits to get bigger shares of that money, and three of those cases could be settled this April. If a judge signs off, schools will be allowed to pay athletes a total of $21 million dollars next year.

“Not every institution has the financial wherewithal to do that,” said Sarah Hartley, who teaches sports law at the University of Virginia School of Law, and is a partner at the firm, BCLP. She said the settlement could mean some schools may not be able to afford to compete at the same level.

“And whether you’re seeing them competing for bowl games, or the national championships, which obviously, you know, we would all hope for our local teams, but will really be impacted by the competitive landscape,” Hartley said.

Hartley said most schools are planning to put the largest portion towards men’s sports, since these tend to generate the most money.

“There is a fear that if universities that already have limited budgets are increasingly investing those monies in football and basketball, there just won’t be enough money left to continue to sponsor all the varsity programs that have been around,” Hartley said.

However, Title IX laws could mean schools have to distribute money equally among men and women. The Department of Education recently advised schools that due to Title IX, money should be distributed equally among men and women athletes. If half of a school’s athletes are female, then they should allocate 50 percent of their funding to women, according to the agency’s guidelines.

But the letter from the Department of Education was from just before Donald Trump took office, and it’s unclear how his administration may weigh in on the issue.

 

Roxy Todd is Radio IQ's New River Valley Bureau Chief.