Like it or not, ready or not, college athletes will soon be compensated directly, sharing in the revenue they help to bring into schools and conferences.
UConn, with competitive programs in several sports, and perennial championship contenders in men’s and women’s basketball, has asked the state legislature to prepare the way for its athletic programs to move forward when revenue sharing becomes a reality, as expected later this year.
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The CT House took the first step Monday night, approving as part of a funding bill with matters mostly unrelated, the removal of “a prohibition on student athletes receiving name-image-likeness compensation as an inducement to attend, enroll in, or continue attending a specific higher education institution or intercollegiate athletic program,” according to a nonpartisan bill summary.
The bill will “allow a student athlete, including one who has agreed to attend an institution, to earn compensation through an endorsement contract or revenue sharing agreement directly with an institution or an entity acting on its behalf if the institution has a policy allowing it and the student follows the policy.”
UConn, the state school most affected, is reserving comment until the final steps are taken for it to become law. Revenue sharing throughout the country is expected as early as April.
Here are some things to know:
What’s coming and when
Last year, a federal judge gave preliminary approval to a $2.8 billion settlement of various lawsuits between student-athletes and the NCAA. Athletes going back as far as 2016 will be able to apply for compensation for incomes that they might have earned before name-image-likeness income was allowed. Going forward, schools will be allowed to establish a fund of $21 million, possibly more, to offer athletes as revenue sharing. A final hearing on the settlement is scheduled for April.
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How it affects UConn
Schools playing in one of the four “power conferences,” the ACC, SEC, Big 12 or Big Ten, bring in tens of millions in football revenue, mostly from TV, and will have less trouble generating money for revenue sharing. However, football players figure to get a large share of the money. UConn is an independent in football, and its Big East revenue is not close, but it will likely prioritize men’s and women’s basketball. Also, “roster caps” will replace scholarship limits, so UConn teams will be able to offer more scholarships — if they can afford it. In other words, UConn will have to figure a lot of this out, especially with regard to Title IX, which requires equal opportunities for female athletes.
“At those schools where it costs $15, 16, 17 million to put a championship football program, there won’t be much left over for everybody else,” UConn coach Geno Auriemma said earlier this month. “That won’t be the case here at Connecticut. We’ve done a pretty good job of understanding the sports we absolutely, positively have to invest in, and all the sports, but you can’t invest in every sport at the same level. Title IX might make you do some of that, but it’s reality that there’s only so much money to go around. There won’t be any change at Connecticut, but at some of the other schools? Yes, women’s basketball will be tremendously affected by it.”
When he considered an offer from the NBA’s Lakers last summer, one of men’s basketball coach Dan Hurley’s concerns was that UConn might not be able to raise enough revenue to compete with other schools for players. He eventually signed a six-year, $50 million contract to stay at UConn.
“There are a lot of factors going through your mind,” Hurley said in June. “TV deals with conferences, that $21 million dollars (for revenue sharing), where is that going to come from? What is that going to look like? Are we going to be at a competitive disadvantage? It wasn’t simple.”
What this bill does
This bill, if and when it becomes law, mainly acknowledges the changes coming and removes the restrictions that would prevent UConn from participating, and competing with other schools, for athletes based on compensation.
How it affects athletes
In come cases, this direct revenue sharing will replace name-image-likeness revenue currently provided by “collectives.” Many such collectives are shutting down, including UConn’s Bleed Blue For Good collective, which will end operations. Athletes will still be able to make money through private endorsement deals, such as the many billboards and ads in which UConn basketball players can be seen, but few have the ability to do this.
Non-revenue sports, including those that send athletes to the Olympics, such as swimming or track and field, could suffer.
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According to the CT House bill summary, schools entering into revenue sharing agreements with student athletes will be required to “annually report, beginning by Jan. 1, 2026, to the Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee on the amount of total revenue used to compensate student athletes and the total number of student athletes compensated.”
The legislation would exclude NIL and revenue sharing deals from FOIA requests, records show.
Where things are headed
The NCAA hopes for federal laws to regulate NIL and other compensation for college athletes in place of the individual laws that differ from state to state. Right now, UConn is looking for the removal of any restrictions by local laws.
Keeping up with other major basketball programs in the ability to compensate athletes is also a factor behind UConn’s efforts to build its football program and join one of the power conferences. This is bound to come up again.
Originally Published: February 26, 2025 at 5:00 AM EST
