Do College Athletes Get Paid? The $2.8 Billion NCAA Settlement Explained

The question of whether college athletes get paid has been one of the most contentious issues in sports. For decades, the answer was a firm no—except for scholarships and basic expenses. That changed dramatically in 2021, and now, with a historic $2.8 billion settlement, thousands of college athletes are finally receiving compensation for their contributions to college sports. This settlement marks a watershed moment for college athlete compensation, and understanding how it works is essential for anyone invested in college sports.

The Short Answer: Yes, College Athletes Get Paid—Now More Than Ever

College athletes now get paid in multiple ways. First, under NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) rules that took effect in 2021, athletes can earn money from brand deals and commercial partnerships. Second, through this new settlement, athletes are receiving retroactive compensation for the use of their image and likeness by colleges and athletic conferences without their permission. The settlement, officially known as House v. NCAA, was prompted by lawsuits claiming that colleges had wrongfully prevented athletes from benefiting from television broadcast rights, marketing, and other revenue streams.

Preliminary approval was granted recently, and the claims process is now live. Athletes who competed from 2016 onward are eligible to submit claims. The settlement resolves not just the House v. NCAA case, but also two other antitrust lawsuits against the NCAA and major athletic conferences.

Breaking Down Who Gets What: The Three Categories of Athletes

Not all college athletes get paid equally from this settlement. The distribution follows a clear hierarchy based on the revenue these athletes generate for their institutions.

Power Five Men’s Football and Basketball Players receive the largest share. These athletes competed in what were historically the most prominent NCAA conferences: the Atlantic Coast, Big Ten, Big 12, Southeastern, and Pac-12. Based on legal estimates, the average payout for these athletes is $135,000. However, individual payments can vary dramatically. Football players at high-revenue programs may receive as much as $1.85 million, while athletes in lower-revenue programs get considerably less.

Power Five Women’s Basketball Players are the second tier, with an average expected payout of $35,000. Like their male counterparts, their exact compensation depends on the school attended and the revenue that school generates from athletics.

All Other Division I Athletes—including those in Olympic sports, baseball, soccer, and other sports—receive smaller payouts, ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars, or in some cases even less. Over 400,000 athletes are potentially eligible to claim compensation.

How Is the Settlement Amount Calculated?

The settlement formula, developed by sports economist Daniel Rascher from the University of San Francisco, considers multiple factors to determine how much each athlete gets paid.

For football players, the amount depends on:

• The school attended (schools generating higher revenues result in bigger payouts)
• The player’s position (quarterback positions receive more, based on typical NFL player valuations)
• The number of plays (measured in snaps) the athlete participated in
• A smaller adjustment for missed video game licensing opportunities

For basketball players, compensation is based on:

• School revenue
• Playing time (measured in minutes)
• Performance statistics showing how many additional wins the player generated for their team

The disparity is intentional. According to court documents, sports outside basketball and football contribute “little or no value to the conferences’ media contracts,” which is why these athletes don’t receive a share of the settlement portion tied to broadcast media rights.

To illustrate: Saquon Barkley, who played running back at Pennsylvania State University and is now a star with the Philadelphia Eagles, will likely receive a substantial payment for his college career—though quarterbacks may actually benefit more under the formula, despite Barkley being at a high-revenue program.

How Much Can College Athletes Actually Get Paid?

The maximum individual payout is capped at $1.85 million for top football players at elite programs. However, most beneficiaries will receive far less. The $2.8 billion total will be distributed based on the formula above, with payments made annually over up to 10 years.

For context, the overall settlement is specifically for retroactive compensation related to missed broadcast and marketing rights from 2016 onward. It does not include payments for current or future NIL deals, which athletes can still negotiate separately with brands, local businesses, and school-affiliated collectives.

Timeline: When College Athletes Get Paid

Individual athletes won’t know their specific payout amount until at least December. The settlement still faces legal hurdles, including a final approval hearing scheduled for April, and potential appeals after that.

Once approved, payments will be distributed annually rather than as a lump sum, which means athletes will receive their compensation in installments over several years. This extended timeline is important for college athletes to understand, as it affects their financial planning.

Athletes also have the option to opt out of the settlement to preserve their right to pursue their own litigation against the NCAA and the five major conferences named as defendants. Some groups are already considering appeals based on Title IX concerns, questioning whether the settlement adequately addresses gender equity in college athletics.

What Happens After This Settlement? The Future of College Athlete Compensation

This settlement is just the beginning of a fundamental transformation in how college athletes get paid. Beyond the $2.8 billion in retroactive compensation, the agreement creates a framework for future revenue sharing in college sports.

Under the new model, many colleges will be able to allocate up to $22 million annually directly to athlete compensation. According to Jim Cavale, chairman of Athletes.org, approximately 70 schools could be operating at this maximum budget level as soon as next summer. This represents a seismic shift in college athletics economics.

Over the next decade, college athletes could earn between $15 billion and $20 billion through direct revenue-sharing arrangements with their schools. These payments would supplement the NIL compensation athletes earn through third-party brand partnerships—what Cavale calls “the icing on the cake.”

The combination of this settlement, the emerging revenue-sharing model, and NIL opportunities means college athletes can now get paid in three distinct ways: retroactively through settlement payouts, directly through school revenue sharing, and independently through commercial NIL deals. This represents an unprecedented shift from the era when college athletes received nothing beyond scholarships.