Late on Friday night, after years of litigation, Judge Claudia Wilken approved the landmark House v. NCAA settlement, which will allows schools to participate in revenue sharing directly with the athletes, and there will be a salary cap system ($20.5 million to athletes) plus roster limits to college sports.
This settlement was from a branch of three lawsuits combined into one case, which addressed compensation for collegiate athletes. The results of this case also brings $2.8 billion in damages for former and current athletes who were not able to profit from NIL over the last decade, as the name, image and likeness model was created in the summer of 2021.
And following the historic news, The University of Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne provided a statement on Saturday morning on his X (formerly known as Twitter) account:
"One of the biggest transformational changes in college athletics is upon us, and Alabama Athletics has been planning for this day and making decisions that best position our department for long term success. Approval of the House settlement offers stability going forward, which is something that is much needed.
"We're extremely proud of the world-class resources out student-athletes receiver and will now add to that by offering new scholarships while fully funding revenue sharing.
"In addition, our student-athletes have the distinct benefit of Yea Alabama, which focuses on creating authentic NIL opportunities powered by both the Alabama and student-athlete brands. Crimson Tide Sports Marketing and Learfield will also continue to cultivate local and national opportunities that greatly benefit our student-athletes.
"We have a long history of being one of the most successful athletics departments, and we will carry on that tradition as we enter this new world."
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