Highlights from the 100-page, $2.78 billion settlement agreement filed Friday in federal court covering the NCAA, college sports' five wealthiest conferences and plaintiffs representing hundreds of thousands of former and current student-athletes. The class-action lawsuit covers more 400,000 former and current college athletes from all sports, dating to 2026.
Payments will be determined by sport played, conference competed in, when and for how long. The range of damage payments vary widely, with football and men's basketball players who competed in the so-called Power Five conferences (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC) are set to receive the largest sums. Many will be in line to recover more than $100,000.
Plaintiffs' attorneys say at least one athlete is estimated to be eligible for $1.8 million. Women's college basketball players are next, with payments estimated to range from about $15,000 to potentially a few hundred thousand each.
Football and basketball players from top conferences and schools outside the Power Five could receive a few thousand dollars each on average; Power Five baseball players are estimated to be eligible to receive an average of about $400. Athletes in other sports might only be eligible for less than $100. The settlement includes an agreement by the major conferences and NCAA to allow schools to distribute about $21 million in athletic revenue back to athletes each year, starting in fall 2025.
The amount is expected to increase as athletic reve.