Salary Cap / Benefits Pool

The revenue-sharing cap, commonly called the salary cap, and formally the benefits pool, is the maximum a school may pay its athletes directly in a given year. It was $20.5 million in 2025-26 and rises to roughly $21.3 million in 2026-27, set at 22% of average athletic revenue across certain categories.

Q. Is it really a salary cap?

Not in the professional sports sense. There is no players’ union and no collective bargaining, and it only binds schools that chose to opt in. It functions as a cap but rests on a court settlement rather than a labor agreement, which is why its enforceability is debated.

Q. What counts against it?

Direct payments to athletes, plus certain scholarship credits and other settlement-authorized benefits. Third-party NIL deals do not count.

Q. Does every school spend the full amount?

No. Opting in sets a ceiling, not a requirement, and actual budgets vary widely between schools and conferences.

Q. Does the cap grow over time?

Yes, by roughly 4% a year, with recalculation built into the settlement’s ten-year term.

Q. What happens if a school exceeds it?

That is cap circumvention, and it falls to the College Sports Commission to investigate and penalize.