How the NCAA v. House Settlement Affects the Florida Gators

At long last, the House v. NCAA settlement has been approved, paving the way for universities to directly pay its student-athletes.

U.S District Judge Claudia Wilken on Friday approved the multibillion-dollar legal settlement, which officially ends multiple federal antitrust lawsuits that all claimed the NCAA was illegally limiting the earning power of its athletes.

As far as the Florida Gators are concerned, the university will be able to begin directly paying its student-athletes on July 1 with a rough cap of $20.5 million beginning for the 2025-26 athletics year. That cap is expected to increase every season.

Additionally, the NCAA will pay almost $2.8 million in back pay over the next 10 years to student-athletes who competed from 2016 to the present, according to ESPN's Dan Murphy.

In anticipation of the revenue share with athletes, UF head coach Billy Napier has built an NFL-style front office for the program with former Atlanta Falcons director of football operations Nick Polk in charge. Polk, who holds the title of football general manager, will lead the program's efforts in salary cap, roster management, revenue share and coaching contracts.

"Now here comes rev share, and I do think that that will provide a little bit more stability, where his experience with the cap management, the strategy around contracts, that's part of the game, right?" Napier said in March. "He's hit the ground running. Man, he's made my life easier already."

However, not everything about the settlement is ideal in the eyes of many.

What many see as a downside to the deal, and something Napier has been anticipating since last season, is the inclusion of roster cuts in the deal. NCAA football programs will be limited to 105 roster spots, while the SEC further limits its teams to 85 scholarships. Meaning, SEC programs will be allowed 20 walk-ons on their rosters.

During spring camp, Napier gave his outlook on the decision and explained he and other coaches were still looking for clarity on the topic, with ideas such as replacement players or a practice squad floated around.

"I think it's a really important topic, and there's been a ton of narrative about it out there," he said. "We probably had one of the more productive, better meetings from an SEC AD/head coach meetings in February in New Orleans. I think that was one of the topics that was discussed. But I do think we're making progress. Is it perfect? No, but I do think that we've got pretty smart people that are working hard on that.”

As a result of the roster cuts, the Gators saw a trio of walk-ons depart from the program in offensive lineman Chase Stevens, quarterback Lawrence Wright IV and long snapper Gannon Burt. However, the impending limits haven't stopped Florida from adding to its walk-on group.

The Gators welcomed defensive back transfers Evan Jackson, Vincent Brown Jr. and Harold Stubbs IV while adding a pair of walk-on freshmen in running back Chad Gasper Jr. and Mack Mulhern, leaving at most 15 open walk-on spots for Florida.

Additionally, the Gators will be held to the 85-man scholarship count and, by Florida Gators on SI's unofficial count, are now at 86 after adding transfer defensive lineman Brendan Bett and class of 2025 four-star corner J'Vari Flowers to the roster.

Additionally, Florida elevated walk-ons in quarterback Aidan Warner, defensive back Cormani McClain and defensive lineman Tarvorise Brown to the scholarship roster while seeing defensive back Greg Smith III and defensive lineman D'Antre Robinson both transfer out of the program.

Florida will have its roster down to 85 scholarship players and 20 walk-ons by its season-opener against Long Island on Aug. 30, according to Napier.

"So we'll have access to the players that we have currently ‘til then, but we will have to make a decision and determine, ‘hey, these are the 105 players that will be available for competition and practice from that point forward,"' he said in March.

The now-official settlement is expected to be a hot topic at the SEC Media Days, which are set to take place in Atlanta from July 14-17, two weeks after schools can begin paying athletes. Napier will take the podium on Wednesday, July 16.

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