Tag: pay

Apr 19, 2025; Fort Worth, TX, USA; A view of the NCAA logo and trophy before the 2025 Women's National Gymnastics Championship at Dickies Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

House v. NCAA settlement approved, paving way for revenue sharing

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The settlement of House v. NCAA was given final approval by Judge Claudia Wilken on Friday night, allowing colleges to directly pay players via revenue sharing for the first time.

Wilken’s stamp of approval was long expected, and the settlement marks the end of the NCAA’s previous model of amateurism, in which athletes were not allowed to earn money while in school.

Beginning July 1, schools can share up to $20.5 million of their revenues with their athletes. That cap will increase by at least four percent each year for the next 10 years.

The settlement also allots $2.8 billion in back payments for athletes who missed out on earning opportunities while in school between 2016 and 2024.

The ruling settles three separate antitrust suits brought against the NCAA, most notably by ex-Arizona State swimmer Grant House and women’s college basketball player Sedona Prince.

It also builds on the previous legal case that opened the door for athletes to earn money in the first place. The Supreme Court case of NCAA v. Alston, decided nearly four years ago, removed limitations on college athletes making money on their own names, images and likenesses.

So-called NIL deals quickly became cover for boosters to raise money to give star players salaries. NIL does not disappear under the House v. NCAA settlement, although soon an NIL clearinghouse operated by Deloitte will be introduced to scrutinize athletes’ deals and determine whether they exceed their fair market value.

–Field Level Media

Jan 13, 2020; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney on the sidelines during the game against the LSU Tigers in the College Football Playoff national championship game at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Clemson’s Swinney agrees to $1.25M pay reduction

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Dabo Swinney and Clemson agreed to a $1.25 million reduction in pay to assist the university as it faces significant financial losses because of the coronavirus pandemic, USA Today reported.

Swinney will give up $1 million he was scheduled to earn as a retention payment on Jan. 1, as well as a $250,000 raise that was scheduled to kick in the same day, per the report. A pay reduction previously had been disclosed, but USA Today reviewed the agreement between the school and Swinney after an open-records request.

Clemson assistant coaches who make $400,000 or more will have their pay cut by 10 percent. Swinney’s cut is about 13 percent.

The highest-paid coach in college football, Swinney was set to make $9.375 million during the 2021 fiscal year, which ends June 30.

Clemson gave Swinney a 10-year contract worth $93 million, the richest contract ever for a college football coach, in April 2019.

Football coaches around the country have taken pay cuts as cash-strapped athletic departments look for ways to slash spending amid revenue losses caused by the ongoing pandemic.

Many Division I athletic departments also have laid off or furloughed staff and cut sports that don’t generate revenues.

Swinney, 50, is in his 13th season as the Tigers coach and has a 131-31 record and two national championships.

–Field Level Media