Athlete Ally Responds to Historic NIL Announcement
May 24, 2025 — Athlete Ally responded to historic news that the NCAA and its five power conferences have agreed to allow schools to directly pay players for the first time in the 100-plus-year history of college sports. The NCAA will pay more than $2.7 billion in damages over 10 years to past and current athletes, sources told ESPN. The parties also have agreed to a revenue-sharing plan allowing each school to share up to roughly $20 million per year with its athletes. Schools likely will begin sharing revenue in Fall 2025.
According to CBS, “The legal settlement is transformative for players because not only will past athletes be compensated for prior restrictions on earning from their name, image, and likeness (NIL) via the $2.8 billion settlement, but the agreement sets the stage for a future revenue-sharing model, a first in the NCAA’s long history, benefiting thousands of collegiate athletes starting as soon as Fall 2025.”
“College athletes aren’t the stars of the future — they’re stars now, and deserve to be compensated,” said Hudson Taylor, Founder and Executive Director of Athlete Ally. “This NIL agreement is long overdue, but lacks important regulations for non-revenue generating sports. Without such regulations, it is likely that many athletes will be left behind, especially in the majority of women’s sports and sports with openly LGBTQI+ athletes. We hope to see additional steps taken to ensure that every athlete, regardless of their sport, is given the opportunity to benefit from their talent equitably.”