Aside from the fact that there will be plenty to discuss at the SEC spring meetings next week—amateurism is officially out of the question, summer classes are over, and when everyone returns to campus, they’ll be prepared to bargain for raises—the NCAA canceled amateurism just hours before Memorial Day weekend began. Talk about an all-time sentence. Talk about an all-time Friday news dump.
After its lawyers were driven over like the Notre Dame football team in the 2013 BCS national championship game, the NCAA acknowledged as much in a statement. There were three class-action lawsuits weighing on the regulatory body of collegiate athletics that had the potential to devastate college sports for all players. After decades of gaslighting and duplicity, the NCAA ultimately capitulated when a deal had to be made. It was unable to carry out its trick any longer.
Regarding the future of collegiate athletics, there are many things we do not know. We can only hypothesize as to how player compensation may affect collegiate football at this time. We only know this for certain right now, in the hours following a historic legal settlement that has the potential to completely alter collegiate athletics and American sports. All along, the NCAA was selling a lie.
Graham House, a former swimmer, is leading a class-action case called House v. NCAA. Athletes are suing the NCAA for antitrust violations, claiming they should have received compensation for using their name, image, and likeness between 2017 and 2020. Former athletes will get billions of dollars as part of the deal. The framework of the settlement will have the biggest impact on college sports going forward since it would create a revenue-sharing arrangement between athletes and their universities.
The agreement states that starting in the autumn of 2025, athletes will get around $22 million of each power conference school’s yearly athletic budget. That brings about a complete transformation. These are historic times for collegiate athletics. Some people believe in doomsday scenarios. Pay no attention to any of them. Collegiate athletics will only improve for all parties involved if players are permitted to split earnings with colleges.
People worry a little bit more about keeping that bread in their pockets when there is money involved.Although major collegiate sports have seen significant change in the past year, their evolution is far from complete. Texas and Oklahoma will be welcomed to the SEC spring meetings by SEC schools next week. On July 1, those universities formally join the SEC. More clubs will be able to play for a national title in football next season thanks to an enlarged playoff system.
Those two adjustments alone were sufficient to completely alter the major college football landscape. Like a powerful mudslide after a volcanic eruption, this legal settlement completely destroys the surrounding area. When the dust eventually settles, the geography will be different, but the seeds of fresh life are still imbedded in the upended earth. College football fans will continue to enhance the distinctive collegiate experience in America. The weapons races will never end since rivalries drive everything.
College athletics will not end as a result of this deal. This is only the start of something new. Maybe even more than in the past, the Iron Bowl is still important. Consider it this way. Alabama, which was formerly the center of attention for college football, is now the hub of major professional sports. Auburn and Alabama will continue to battle it out year for the national championship. I am positive about that much. It is difficult to forecast the future, but certain things will never change. In addition, UAB, Troy, Jacksonville State, and South Alabama might now have chances to win a national title if revenue sharing creates a new division in college football.
The spirit of college athletics endures, even though the NCAA’s brand of shamateurism may be on the decline. How come I am aware of this? since knowledge is still important. For all of its paradoxical issues, collegiate athletics have never been morally reprehensible. It’s critical to comprehend that. Always, there was more good than bad. Don’t mistake what is occurring for anything dying. This is only the legal system making amends. While collegiate athletics will always evolve, the core of the American college experience will never change. The desire to compete, to chase a better future and to fight for the top spot, never goes away.