Former athletes in the major conferences are set to receive nearly $2.8 billion in retroactive damages following the recent filing of multiple class-action lawsuit settlements in a California federal court on Friday. Settlement agreements for three cases—House v. NCAA, Hubbard v. NCAA, and Carter v. NCAA—were submitted in the Northern District of California, benefiting athletes from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC. The funds will be disbursed over a period of 10 years, amounting to about $280 million each year.
“This is another important step in the ongoing effort to provide increased benefits to student-athletes while creating a stable and sustainable model for the future of college sports. While there is still much work to be done in the settlement approval process, this is a significant step toward establishing clarity for the future of all of Division I athletics while maintaining a lasting education-based model for college sports, ensuring the opportunity for student-athletes to earn a degree and the tools necessary to be successful in life after sports.”