New Chapter Of College Sports Begins As ‘House Settlement’ Goes Into Effect

And just like that, the entire landscape of college sports has changed.

The NCAA vs. House Settlement, known simply as the “House Settlement,” has officially gone into effect Tuesday, July 1 to mark a new era for athletics at the university level. The deal is meant to cause a major switch, marking the end of the NCAA‘s model of amateurism that they’ve used for decades now, and college athletes will now be allowed to receive direct payment. (RELATED: BYU’s Jake Retzlaff To Enter Transfer Portal Due To Expected Honor Code Suspension Over Assault Allegations: REPORT)

Damages to former athletes will also be paid as well, with each the NCAA, ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac 12 and SEC coming to an agreement to dish out $2.8 billion to ex-athletes who weren’t able to earn any kind of name, image and likeness (NIL) payment before 2021. Those payments will be taken care of over the next 10 years.

Division I universities now have the opportunity to opt-in to the deal that will unlock their ability to directly pay athletes that attend their school, going by a revenue-sharing cap that will be set at $20.5 million per college. It’s expected that the cap will increase every year.

A chart from the NCAA delivered to member schools today outlining what it means to opt into the House settlement. pic.twitter.com/8jknjc6ByQ

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) February 12, 2025

As a Miami Hurricanes fan, I’ve got mixed feelings about this. I’m glad the kids are finally getting paid, but I’m not the biggest fan of there being a salary cap. The Canes were about to roll that a** as time went along with how much money flows through South Florida.

Regardless, it’s going to be interesting to see how this goes here in the new era.