The House vs. NCAA antitrust lawsuit took a step forward last week after the settlement agreement was made public. Several aspects of this settlement could potentially impact the future of NCAA Wrestling, including roster caps, increased scholarships, revenue sharing, and NIL regulation. 

First, it’s worth noting that the settlement only includes Power 5 schools, is not final, and still needs to be approved by a judge. The hearing for this potential agreement is set for September 5, 2024. Also, if confirmed, the proposed changes wouldn’t take place until the Fall of 2025. 

Unlimited Scholarships…With Roster Caps

The biggest potential impact on wrestling comes from the changes proposed for scholarships and roster sizes. Under the proposal, schools can now give as many scholarships as they desire and are only limited by a mandated roster cap. Formerly, the NCAA limited scholarships at 9.9 for wrestling. However, under this proposal, wrestling will have a roster cap of 30 wrestlers and each school has the potential to give up to 30 athletic scholarships. 

This proposed change has the potential for both “good” and “bad” for college wrestling. The obvious good is the potential for more wrestlers to be on athletic scholarships. However, the counter is that many Power-5 schools have carried more than the proposed 30-man roster. That means that those schools will have to make cuts and that will deny more wrestlers the opportunity to wrestle at the Division 1 level. If the 30-man roster cap was in effect for Power 5 schools last season, 118 wrestlers across 22 schools would have been cut to comply with the proposed regulations. Check out the roster sizes for Power-5 wrestling schools below to see the potential impact of the new roster cap mandate. 

It’s also worth noting that non-Power-5 schools can choose to opt into the guidelines outlined in the settlement. Opting in would allow the non-Power 5 schools to participate in revenue sharing and unlimited scholarships but would also limit their roster cap to 30. Because non-Power-5 schools don’t generate the same amount of revenue as Power-5 schools, it’s unlikely we see many of those schools opt into revenue sharing and increased scholarships. Check out last year’s roster size for the non-Power-5 wrestling schools below.

Revenue Sharing

Another aspect of the settlement that could change the landscape of college athletics is revenue sharing. Under this portion of the settlement, schools can choose to share up to 22% of their yearly revenue with the student-athletes. This will result in an estimated $20 million per school in the 2025-26 year and is projected to increase to $32.9 million per school in 2034-35. It’s important to note that schools can determine what athletes would receive a share in the revenue and will most likely be distributed to sports that generate the most revenue (likely football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball). 

NIL Regulation

The final area of this settlement that will impact college wrestling, and college sports in general, is the attempt to bring regulation to the NIL landscape. In July 2021 the NCAA allowed college athletes to start earning compensation for their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). Now under this settlement, rules will be established “limiting boosters to making fair market value payments for NIL.” Though the details aren’t fully on how this will be enforced, the settlement details that NIL deals over $600 will be reviewed by a third party to ensure their legitimacy and are not used as a “pay-for-play” strategy.