Collegiate athletics is set to move forward with its new model in the wake of the House vs. NCAA settlement.

It’s a complex time for collegiate sports fans, to be sure, as they look to understand the modifications and how they will be applied and enforced.

Many have kept up with the House vs. NCAA landmark case, which was granted preliminary approval by Judge Claudia Wilken last October before its April 7 hearing.

The final settlement was granted last Friday night, after Wilken pushed back on the roster limit restriction stipulation, wanting that to be applied over time so as not to displace 5,000 student-athletes at once.

Here’s a look at some key elements of the ruling and the initial models and plans to run and regulate the overhauled collegiate sports model, effective July 1.

Settlement Terms

Schools will begin paying student-athletes out of a $20.5 million allowance, or “cap,” for the usage of their name, image and likeness (NIL).

The cap allowance will increase by 4 percent each year of the 10-year agreement.

The settlement terms take effect on July 1 and includes:

• backpay ($2.8 billion) to collegiate athletes who competed between 2016 and 2024, for prior usage of their name, image and likeness

• the elimination of scholarship limits,

• a $20.5 million allowance, or “cap” for schools to pay current student-athletes for the usage of their NIL

• “grandfathered” roster limits — athletes currently on teams will be able to finish their careers through their scholarship terms before new roster limits (105 for football) take effect.

In addition to the $20.5 million athletic departments can disperse through their athletic programs, student-athletes can negotiate outside NIL deals.

Collegiate sports regulation

The Power Four conferences — the SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC — will regulate and enforce player compensation.

A newly appointed “College Sports Commission” (CSC) will oversee the new system in place that allows schools to share its revenue (via the $20.5 million) and ensure that outside NIL deals are fair and comply with rules.

Former Major League Baseball executive vice president, legal & operations Bryan Seeley was named the CEO of the College Sports Commission (CSC) on Friday night.

Seeley’s CSC will see to it that student-athlete NIL deals not associated with the money paid directly by the university be approved by third-party clearinghouse Deloitte.

Investigations into the deals are expected to be resolved in 45 days, per ESPN sources.

The CSC looks to get schools to sign into an agreement for CEO’s to have the power to make “final factual findings and determinations” on violations of rules, and have the authority “impose such fines, penalties or other sanctions as appropriate” in order to uphold new rules and stipulations.

NIL Deal Approvals

Deloitte’s approvals will put the proposed deals through a clearinghouse called “NIL Go,” which involves a three-step process, as explained in a three-page memo that has been distributed to the schools, per NILrevolution.com.

Per the website, NIL Go will:

• efficiently clear legitimate third-party NIL deals valued at $600 or more

• reflect the true market value of NIL deals without arbitrary value regulation, and,

• support the enforcement of the deals, along with supporting the schools and student-athletes

Deloitte’s NIL Go involves a there-step process:

1. Payor Association Verification

“Schools will initially determine the association status of payors (i.e., whether they are “associated” entities or individuals) to determine whether a fair-market-value assessment is required. In doing so, schools will use several criteria such as whether the entity/individual exists primarily to support the athletics program, provides exclusive NIL opportunities for the school, contributes more than $50,000 over a lifetime, and employs or owns certain roles tied to the school or associated entities”

2. Valid Business Purpose Verification

“Next, schools will determine whether a payor’s intent is to use the student-athlete’s NIL to legitimately advance business objectives. On the payor level, the school will verify the payor’s identity and intent. On the deal level, the school will review the details of the NIL deal and any supporting documents for the purpose of flagging any issues.”

3. Range of Compensation Analysis

“Finally, Deloitte will use a 12-point analysis to assess whether the compensation aligns with similarly situated individuals in comparable NIL deals.

This range of compensation analysis will apply solely to third-party NIL deals with “associated” entities or individuals, using historical deal data involving both college and professional athletes as benchmarks, and excluding roster value and recruiting incentives.

Deloitte will assess factors such as athletic performance, social media presence, local and institutional market size, and brand influence to determine the fair-market-value of each individual student-athlete’s deal.

Upon completion of this process, Deloitte will communicate the status of each individual deal as either “cleared,” “in review,” or “information needed.”

If a student-athlete’s deal falls into either of the latter two categories (i.e., it is not “cleared”) the student-athlete has four options. They may: (1) renegotiate and resubmit the terms of the deal, (2) proceed at risk of eligibility consequences, (3) cancel the deal, or (4) request a neutral arbitrator to review the deal. Deloitte will not block any student-athlete’s deal, instead allowing the student-athlete to make his/her own decision to accept the deal with the understanding that they risk eligibility."

Moving forward

More questions — and answers — lie ahead about collegiate sports’ new operations model amid this era of pay and free movement and immediate eligibility through the portal.

More lawsuits are expected as the legalities of the stipulations are tested, and more tweaks and modifications will be made as leadership navigates this new landscape.

There are sure to be unintended consequences, in addition to the litigation, for the universities’ leadership to manage and explain.

It’s a new path, to be certain, even as the collegiate sports main objectives and the rules of the games and competitions remain largely the same.