What does revenue sharing mean for NIL and BYU? Let’s take a look at the changes coming.
Changes are coming to BYU and college sports because of ongoing court cases. ESPN had an article on some of the particulars of this back in July. Here is a link to the article, but the particulars are laid out below
From ESPN’s Dan Murphy:
“The parties agreed in late May to settle a trio of lawsuits (House v. NCAA, Hubbard v. NCAA and Carter v. NCAA) about the various ways schools compensate their athletes….
…Schools will be permitted for the first time to pay their athletes directly via name, image and likeness (NIL) deals under the terms of the settlement. Each school could provide up to 22% of the average revenue that power conference schools generate from media rights, ticket sales and sponsorships — a sum that is expected to be between $20 million and $22 million per school when the settlement goes into effect at the start of the 2025-26 academic year.”
The judge has continued to refine several aspects of the implementations and has yet to give full clarification of when and how these changes will be rolled out. But these changes are coming to Provo and the other P4 programs.
At the start of the 2025-2026 School year at BYU, the athletes there will be eligible to receive 22% of revenue from the schools TV revenue, ticket sales, and sponsorships.
This is all laid clearly in the article by ESPN. In that article they estimate most P5 schools will contribute around $20-$22 million to it’s athletes. This could level the playing field for many institutions who haven’t been able to compete in NIL with limited booster support. It also restores some normalcy to recruiting and retaining players where NIL has a big pull. Players knowing they will collect a reasonable NIL check as a starter at most schools, are less likely to be lured away solely for the purpose to make money.
It also ensures that the athletes who create the valuable content for ESPN, Ticket sales and sponsorships in the stadium get to share in the profits.
Most college athletes won’t ever get money from the NFL. For them this is their only opportunity to profit off playing their sport.
What will all of this look like at BYU?
Kalani in the most recent Cougar Club luncheon talked about this a little. He is concerned that players will squander their income. This is, from my experience, a legitimate concern.
I talked to a player who already has one relatively new car that he got at a good price, but that wanted to buy a second one. Why? Because he could. I showed him he can’t even park two cars at his apartment and showed him other ways his money could be invested to help him down the road. So in my experience guidance and education for the players is a good thing.
A few players have been really disciplined with their earning and have positioned themselves to have a lot financial independence starting early in life. I think Kalani mentioned something like “(the) players need to know how to order off the value menu.” I think that is a good approach.
Even if they’re making more money investing early and having financial acumen will be important. Player supports and relationships will really be what starts setting schools apart once all players are sharing in the schools revenue.
The third party NIL companies that provide these kind of supports to players become the sort of icing on the cake. They won’t be going away, they’ll become the thing sets schools apart once all schools are sharing their revenue.
Dan Murphy goes on to say:
“Athletes would still be able to make money from NIL deals with third parties, but the NCAA said the settlement will allow them to install a more “robust and effective enforcement and oversight program” to make sure those third-party deals are “legitimate NIL activity.””
I think the revenue sharing will bring stability to the rosters, bring most of the NIL activities in house and be an overall benefit to college football and college athletics.
I also think BYU will have an advantage because there are a lot of people outside of BYU invested in players success. Fans have supported players by getting involved in NIL. A lot of businesses owned by BYU fans have contributed in significant ways as well. Jay Hill is obviously a great recruiter/coordinator and Kalani is a great coach. The leadership at HC and AHC are where they need to be. I think with the revenue sharing and fan support the program will continue to have a bright future with them leading the way. Go Cougs!!
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