Updating the playbook: Paying the athletes

by

This is part 2 of a 2-part series examining the rapidly changing landscape of college sports. Read Part 1, The New Playbook here.

Mackenzie Yoakum’s college volleyball story has many layers.

The former Homewood High School standout took an unconventional journey, beginning at Seton Hall University and later transferring to the University of West Georgia, where she found both stability and meaning in the sport she loves.

She was recruited during a time when athletes were being granted extra years of eligibility due to COVID. Her commitment to Seton Hall nearly fell through, and she later entered the transfer portal.

Her experience is one of dealing with continuous adversity.

“I have had to learn how to stick up for myself and fight my internal battle of thinking I am not good enough,” she said. “It is much more than [volleyball],” she said. “It's about how you respond when life knocks you down at 17, and what person you’ll come out of it by 21.”

Things didn’t go as planned at Seton Hall, and she decided to enter the transfer portal after her sophomore season. She landed at West Georgia last year and took a redshirt season.

“I love my teammates, I am an hour and a half from home, I travel to some of the best cities in the South, and I’m part of the athletic media team,” she said.

Yoakum’s path reflects the resilience today’s college athletes need in an era of NIL, transfers and uncertain futures.

THE GAME JUST CHANGED

If you played Division I college sports in the last decade — or your kid did — this summer, money’s coming.

Not from boosters. Not from collectives. From the university itself.

On June 14, a federal judge finalized House v. NCAA, a $2.8 billion antitrust settlement that shatters the 119-year model of amateurism. For the first time, schools can pay their athletes directly — not for appearances, not through shell groups — but straight from university revenue.

If you are a fan of college sports, the games are now unlike anything you’ve known.

And it starts now.

WHO GETS PAID – AND HOW

The House settlement triggers two historic changes:

Backpay: Any Division I athlete who competed between 2016 and 2024 can file for compensation. Payouts will depend on sport, tenure and school revenue — with football and men’s basketball expected to receive the largest shares.

Revenue sharing: Starting this fall, schools can pay current athletes up to $20.5 million annually. The cap will rise each year over the 10-year agreement. Most schools are expected to split it like this:

  • 75% to football
  • 15% to men’s basketball
  • 5% to women’s basketball
  • 5% to all other sports

This is not NIL 2.0. This is something else entirely.

NIL was always about outside money — sponsors, side hustles, booster funds. The House settlement puts the money on campus. Schools will now pay athletes from the same pool used for coach salaries, facilities and scholarships.

That makes it bigger. And messier.

Only the Power 4 conferences — SEC, Big Ten, ACC, Big 12 — were named in the suit. But all Division I schools must contribute to the backpay fund, even if they’ve never had a single NIL deal. Many smaller schools are already trimming rosters, adjusting scholarships and revisiting budgets. Some athletes will get paid. Others may get cut.

‘TRANSFORMATIVE LEGISLATION’

Birmingham entrepreneur and athlete advocate Jim Cavale has been tracking this shift from the beginning.

“In just the first year — from July 2021 to July 2022 — we tracked $350 million in NIL activity,” Cavale said. “And 90% of that was donor-driven funds funneled through collectives to pay athletes to play.”

Now, he says, things are even murkier.

“The biggest issue athletes face is confusing and misleading contracts,” Cavale said. “These so-called NIL deals are often performance-based agreements in disguise.”

ESPN national analyst Tom Luginbill sees the same storm building.

“This is the most transformative legislation in college sports in the last 15 years — and it dropped with no guardrails,” he said. “(Resource-rich) programs like Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia can do whatever they want. Most others can’t.”

And he’s worried.

“What’s coming is this: players getting paid big money, surrounded by bad actors. Agents want 20–30%. A kid enters the portal, takes bad advice, spends the money — and doesn’t go pro. That’s the reality.”

NEXT: CONGRESS AND COURTS

Just days after the House ruling, a bipartisan group in Congress introduced the SCORE Act — a bill that would:

  • Cap revenue sharing and standardize disclosures
  • Pre-empt state NIL laws
  • Create a federal enforcement commission
  • Affirm that college athletes are not employees

That last point might be the whole game.

The NCAA’s biggest fear isn’t payment — it’s employment. If athletes are ruled to be employees, everything changes: benefits, unions, workers’ comp, labor law. The House deal opened the door to paychecks. Congress is now trying to close it before anyone says the E-word.

But Cavale says the conversation still leaves out the people it claims to protect.

“These are being structured as NIL, not employment — and there’s still no agent regulation, no contract standards,” he said. “The athlete’s voice is missing. What’s really needed is collective bargaining.”

Meanwhile, legal uncertainty continues. The House settlement is not the final word — and may not withstand future challenges.

In June, eight current and former female athletes filed a Title IX lawsuit challenging the revenue-sharing model, arguing that its disproportionate distribution to men’s sports violates federal gender equity laws. More suits are likely. Title IX, employment law and due process could all play a role in shaping — or unraveling — the current plan.

NCAA leaders say that’s why congressional intervention is critical. The proposed SCORE Act would codify House into law, protect it from further litigation and preempt conflicting state-level NIL rules. But despite years of lobbying, no federal college sports law has ever passed. For now, the policy landscape remains a moving target.

WELCOME TO NIL GO

On June 17, a new layer of regulation arrived: NIL Go — a clearinghouse overseen by the Collegiate Sports Commission and run by Deloitte.

Athletes must now report any deal over $600. Each gets reviewed for “fair market value.” If Deloitte flags it as inflated, it can be denied or sent to arbitration. There is no legal standard for that value. No consistent appeal process. Just a new filter between athletes and the opportunities they chase.

And that’s happening as university-issued paychecks are set to hit.

The result? Confusion, whiplash — and change.

Athletes like Yoakum have already weathered NIL, the transfer portal and scholarship uncertainty. Now they face something even stranger: a paycheck from the school they play for.

What that means — and how long it lasts — is still in question.

The checks start July 1.

The system? Still up for grabs.

It’s not slowing down any time soon.

“With NIL expanding and the transfer portal becoming a more disposable route, I think that the use of the portal is being warped to fit what these athletes initially want out of their college experience: money and a good time,” Yoakum said.

House vs. NCAA Settlement Explained

WHAT IS IT?

The House v. NCAA antitrust settlement marks the official end of amateurism in college sports. Starting July 1, schools can pay athletes directly for the first time in NCAA history. The new model applies to current and future Division I athletes — not just those already on campus.

KEY TERMS

  • $2.8 billion in back payments (2016-2024) to former D-I athletes
  • The annual cap grows by at least 4% per year
  • 10-year agreement: runs through 2035
  • Roster limits: schools must reduce rosters to meet compensation caps
  • Revenue sharing begins: schools can share up to $20.5M per year with athletes

WHY IT MATTERS

This formalizes athlete compensation, bringing college sports closer than ever to a pro model — and away from the 119-year “student-athlete” model.