College Athletes Face Uncertain Future as Payouts Near

A significant legal agreement is on the horizon that could transform college sports. This deal involves a massive payout and new rules for how schools can compensate their athletes. The judge in charge, Claudia Wilken, has not yet given her final approval. She wants more details on a few points before she makes her decision. The NCAA has agreed to pay around $2. 8 billion to current and former athletes. This is to settle lawsuits claiming the NCAA's rules have limited what athletes can earn. The deal, known as the House settlement, will also create a new way for schools to pay athletes directly. This is set to start this summer. In return, the NCAA will set limits on how much each school can spend on athletes each year. This is like a salary cap and will start at about $20. 5 million per school. It will increase every year for the next 10 years. The deal also gives the biggest conferences more control over name, image, and likeness deals between athletes and boosters. This is to stop teams from using boosters to get around the spending cap. Wilken has asked lawyers to rethink one part of the deal. This part would limit how many athletes can be on a school's roster for each sport. She also wants more details on how future athletes can object to the deal once they start college. Some people who spoke at the hearing want Wilken to reject the settlement. They say it could lead to thousands of athletes losing their spots on teams. The NCAA's current rules limit the number of scholarships each team can give. If the settlement is approved, this rule will go away. Schools could then give a full scholarship to every athlete if they want to. To keep the wealthiest schools from having too many athletes, the NCAA has proposed to limit the number of players each team can have. Many teams will have to cut current athletes to comply with this new rule. One athlete, Gannon Flynn, said his coaches told him he will not have a spot on the team next season because of the settlement. He said athletes just want to play and compete. They are not focused on the money. Wilken suggested that any current athlete should get to keep their spot even if it puts a team over the new roster limit. Judges cannot make specific changes to a settlement, but Wilken can suggest how attorneys could fix problems. The NCAA's lawyer needs to talk to his clients about any changes to the roster limit terms. He is still hopeful the settlement will be approved. Other people who spoke at the hearing have concerns. They say the $2. 8 billion in damages are not being divided fairly. Men, especially football and basketball players, are expected to get at least 90% of the payments. Others argue that the settlement creates a new problem by capping how much each school can spend on athletes. Professional sports leagues set salary caps by negotiating with a players' union. Wilken said she does not have the authority to rule on whether athletes should be able to negotiate in that way. The lawyers involved are hopeful that Wilken will give her final approval in the next few weeks. Schools are planning to start paying athletes directly in July.