Revenue Sharing

Revenue sharing is the system that lets a college pay its athletes directly out of athletic department revenue. It began on July 1, 2025 under the House settlement, and it is one of three distinct ways money now reaches a college athlete, alongside athletic scholarships (financial aid) and NIL (athlete-driven, third-party money). Each participating school can distribute up to a capped amount across its athletes each year, $20.5 million in 2025-26, rising to roughly $21.3 million in 2026-27.

Q. Has the 2026-27 cap been finalized?

Not as of fall 2026. The roughly $21.3 million figure reflects the settlement’s built-in annual increase, but schools are still discussing where the final number lands, confirm the current figure before citing it anywhere specific.

Q. How is the cap calculated?

It is set at 22% of the average of certain athletic revenue categories at power-conference schools: media rights, ticket sales and sponsorships. The figure is expected to rise by roughly 4% a year across the settlement’s ten-year term.

Q. Do all schools participate?

No. Opting in is voluntary. Power-conference schools have generally opted in; the Ivy League opted out entirely. A school that opts in is not required to spend the full amount, the cap is a ceiling, not a floor.

Q. How do schools decide which athletes get paid?

That is left to each school. There is no required split by sport or by gender. Most participating schools have concentrated the pool in revenue-generating sports, which is the source of ongoing Title IX questions.

Q. Does third-party NIL count against the cap?

No. Money from outside businesses, brands and collectives sits outside the cap, though it still has to clear NIL Go. Only payments from the school itself count.

Q. What else counts against the cap?

Certain scholarship credits and other settlement-authorized benefits also count, which is why managing the pool is more complicated than tracking a single number.