College Athlete Revenue Sharing

Colleges paid athletes over $1.77 billion in the first year of revenue sharing.

The NCAA and College Sports Commission announced that college athletes received over $1.77 billion in revenue-sharing payments from schools in the first year of a system implemented as part of the House lawsuit settlement. The system allowed schools to directly pay athletes for the first time, starting with the 2025-26 school year. The majority of these payments came from revenue sharing. Additionally, schools reported paying over $42 million in Alston academic benefits and $163 million in “new and incremental scholarship spending” through the College Athletes Payment System. The rev-share system was part of a $2.8 billion settlement of antitrust claims facing the NCAA and major college conferences. Critics argue that placing a cap on college-athlete compensation is unfair, especially without collective bargaining agreements like those with players’ unions.

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