Name, Image, & Likeness: The "House" Settlement

By Adam Doll

The NCAA and the Power 5 conferences agreed to a settlement that was finalized in June. The “House Settlement” provides universities to a) provide monetary payments to current Division I athletes; b) participate in revenue sharing; and c) adhere to mandatory roster limits.

Schools are now allowed to pay “student athletes” for being a student-athlete. Schools can pay up to 22% of the average annual revenue of all participating institutions, which is estimated at $20.5 million for 2025 (which will increase in successive years). Each school has discretion on which athletes to pay and how much those athletes will receive.

The House Settlement mandates certain roster limits for each sport but provides that schools no longer have scholarship limits moving forward. For example, Iowa Hawkeye football had a roster of about 130 players last year but could only give 85 scholarships. For the 2026-27 school year, football teams are limited to having a roster of 105 players. However, schools may now provide, but are not mandated to provide, every student-athlete on the football team with a scholarship.

The House Settlement also requires the establishment of the College Sports Commission (CSC), which will be responsible for enforcing revenue sharing and third-party NIL deals. The CSC will manage “NIL Go” which will be responsible for evaluating third-party NIL deals. NIL Go will evaluate NIL agreements over $600 to ensure the deals are based on fair market value (FMV) standard. This is meant to curtail a collective from paying a student-athlete compensation that is clearly above fair market value consideration. An example of such a third-party deal might be a car dealership paying a student-athlete $25,000 to show up and sign autographs for two hours. An exception to that example might be if that student-athlete was the next Caitlin Clark. In that case, $25,000 in compensation could be deemed a FMV for such an appearance.

The House Settlement has been seen as a net positive for student-athletes as it opens the door for more compensation. However, the mandated roster limits have already forced teams like Iowa Hawkeye football to cut approximately 30 players from its roster. Many commentators wished that the roster limits at a minimum would have been phased in over time to allow “walk-on” athletes to remain on the team throughout their collegiate career. This settlement also puts more financial pressure on the schools themselves as most schools are planning to pay out the maximum revenue sharing of $20.5 million. If schools decide not to max out the revenue sharing to student-athletes, those schools will be operating at a competitive disadvantage.

There have already been lawsuits filed in response to these new rules stemming from the House Settlement, and more legal actions should be expected. Lawsuits will raise questions such as limiting student-athletes’ compensation, adverse effects from athletes being cut due to roster limits, and Title IX gender issues. President Trump has also reportedly considered issuing an Executive Order which would limit payments to athletes. In short, this ain’t over yet…stay tuned.