Five days after the landmark House vs. NCAA settlement created $2.8 billion in back damages, UCLA was among the first schools to lay out its plan for student-athlete revenue sharing that will begin August 2025.
In a statement to James H. Williams of Southern California News Group and later obtained by Bruin Blitz, the UCLA athletic department announced Tuesday evening that it “could amount to as much as $20M-$22M per year” to be shared with more than 600 athletes across all sports.
The revenue-sharing model will be capped at 22% of the revenue, the statement read.
"It's a new era in collegiate athletics,” the statement read. “We embrace this transformation for what it means for our student-athletes: the opportunity to receive direct NIL payments and revenue sharing. Our goals are to support and develop our student-athletes, compete at the highest level and maintain fiscal sustainability. UCLA Athletics expects to participate in student-athlete revenue sharing, with an anticipated start of August 2025.”
The revenue-sharing model is in addition to funds that will be distributed to former athletes after the framework was approved last Tuesday by the Division I Board of Directors. Schools will fund 60% — or $1.65 billion — of the damages and the NCAA will foot the remaining $1.1 billion over a 10-year period for lost name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities, according to Yahoo! Sports senior college football reporter Ross Dellenger.
UCLA will have to navigate the new revenue-sharing model and back damages while continuing to work its way out of debt. According to the Los Angeles Times, the school has accumulated $167.7 million in debt since the 2019 fiscal year.
In addition, the University of California regents ordered UCLA to pay $10 million per year in athletic support payments to sister school California as part of the fallout for leaving the Pac-12 Conference for the Big Ten.
The additional costs of the conference switch include $10.32 million per year that UCLA will spend on nutrition, mental health and academic services and increased chartered flights.
UCLA will receive $60 million per year in media-rights revenue from the Big Ten.
“In addition to this reform, we will soon welcome a new chancellor to UCLA,” the statement read. “With finite resources, an investment in revenue sharing will greatly alter our financial outlook, and we anticipate important discussions with campus leadership around equity, who will receive these new benefits, and how we remain both competitive and fiscally sustainable. Our student-athletes and their holistic development remain at the core of everything we do, and we will continue to support and develop them while investing in priority areas of academics, nutrition and mental health resources."
It remains to be seen how schools across the country will navigate the new world order in college athletics while remaining compliant with Title IX.
Earlier Tuesday, California lawmaker Chris Holden removed the revenue-sharing portion of his proposed state bill, AB 252, in response to the landmark settlement.
Holden, though, will continue to push for legislation that would prevent schools from cutting sports and scholarships.
“While the progress toward athlete revenue-sharing is groundbreaking, college athletes lack basic physical and academic protections that AB 252 will provide,” Holden said in a statement.
