Attorney Jeffrey Portnoy joins producer/host Coralie Chun Matayoshi to discuss the NCAA settlement which would allow former college athletes whose names and images were used during their playing days to share $2.8 billion in compensation and allow schools to pay their players going forward, through revenue sharing.  A federal judge will decide in the next several months whether to approve or reject the settlement. Q.  College athletes were always considered amateurs who did not receive any compensation from their schools, until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2021 that this violates the antitrust law and that colleges must be allowed to compensate students for education-related expenses up to $5,980 per year.  This was just the start.  The NCCA just reached a $2.8 billion settlement that would allow college athletes to share in team revenue for the first time in history.  Is this settlement final? Not yet. A federal judge will decide in the next several months whether to approve or reject the settlement.  This is the same judge who decided two other antitrust cases involving compensation to student players (O’Bannon and Alston) where she ruled for the plaintiffs but awarded only minimal relief. Q.  If the settlement is approved, who will receive it and how will the $2.8 billion be divided up? There are two parts to the settlement:  1) compensation to past players; and 2) allowing schools to pay their players from now on, through revenue sharing. For compensation of past players, $2.8 billion would be divided among about 25,000 past athletes who attended 363 Division I colleges whose names and images were used during their playing days. These athletes fall into 3 categories:  1) mostly athletes who played major-conference football and men’s basketball which make the most revenue; 2) women’s basketball players in the major conferences; and 3) other Division I athletes who competed between 2016 and 2020 and joined the lawsuit. The settlement would allow (but not require) Division I schools to set aside up to about $20 million of their sports revenue per year to pay athletes.  Each school is allowed to figure out on its own how to distribute the money and which athletes would receive it.  Schools would share about 22% of their sports revenue with players, which is less than the 50% or so that professional leagues share with their players. Q.  Where would the $2.8 billion come from? The NCAA and Division I college and university athletic conferences would pay the $2.8 billion over 10 years: NCAA – 41% ($1.2 billion) Conferences that were co-defendants in the lawsuit (Big Ten, Southeastern, Big 12, Atlantic Coast and Pac-12) – 24% Other 5 conferences that compete for the College Football Playoff – 10% Football Championship Subdivision – 13% Division I Conferences that don’t play football – 12% Q.  The big schools generate a lot of revenue from their sports programs but smaller schools like UH generally operate at a loss.  How will this settlement, if approved, affect schools like UH? It will have a significant negative impact. There is no way UH can compete financially with the Power 5 schools. And asking UH to pay its share of the settlement will put a hit on what is already a financial drain on the athletic budget. Q.  Now that college athletes can get paid, what does this mean for mean for amateurism in college sports – will they be considered professionals?  How will this affect recruiting, transfers, and competition - won’t this deepen the disparity between the rich colleges that can pay their athletes vs. the ones that can’t? It means the fantasy of pretending college athletes are amateurs is finally over. The future may well mean they will be considered employees, subject to unions, workers compensation, etc. the impact on recruiting, transfers, and competition will be profoundly affected. Q.  With most of the compensation going to male athletes, how would the settlement be affected by Title IX’s requirement that males and females be given equal opportunities in athletics? This is just one of the issues that needs to be addressed as these dramatic changes evolve. To learn more about this subject, tune into this video podcast. Disclaimer:  this material is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.  The law varies by jurisdiction and is constantly changing.  For legal advice, you should consult a lawyer that can apply the appropriate law to the facts in your case.