College football began a new era during the 2024-25 season with the expanded 12-team playoff.
The changes to the sport – and to college athletics as a whole – are expected to be far greater this coming year.
A federal judge is expected to give final approval on April 7 to the House vs. NCAA settlement, which includes back pay, revenue sharing and roster changes starting with the 2025-26 academic year.
“This is a challenge all over the country,” Penn State football coach James Franklin said Tuesday. “A lot of coaches are talking about this. A lot of ADs (athletic directors) are talking about this. A lot of (conference) commissioners are talking about this.
“You’re having to make decisions and you’re having to move forward before you have all of the information and guidelines. Decisions are still being made today. It’s very, very challenging.”
The NCAA and the plaintiffs, two former Division I athletes, reached a settlement last year that requires the NCAA to pay nearly $2.8 billion to former Division I athletes for lost NIL opportunities.
It allows schools to share a portion of their revenue with athletes, potentially up to $20.5 million in the 2025-26 academic year.
Under the settlement, the NCAA will impose new roster limits for teams, which will replace scholarship limits. In football, 105 players will be allowed on a roster, including walk-ons, beginning in the fall.
Franklin already has discussed the new roster limit with Penn State players. The team had 120 players listed on its roster Tuesday, not including six members of its 2025 recruiting class who are expected to enroll in May or June.
“It’s going to be different,” he said. “We lost16 guys (to injuries) during the season last year. Now you have 16 guys that you lost during the season who you’re not allowed to replace under the 105 rules. How are you going to practice?
“A lot of commissioners and ADs were saying, ‘Well, the NFL does it with 53. You should be able to do it with 105.’ That’s not accurate. The NFL number for an average roster throughout an entire season that I’ve seen in terms of signing guys, practice squad guys, cutting guys, being able to replace guys, is about 110.”
Under the settlement, schools will be able to share up to 22% of revenue from media rights, ticket sales and sponsorships with athletes. They also will be able to enter into name, image and likeness deals directly with athletes.
In the case of Penn State, the school was negotiating in December and early January what it would pay football players for the 2025 season even though it wasn’t certain exactly how much money would be earmarked for revenue sharing.
That won’t be known until April 7 or later.
“You had to have those deals done before the transfer portal closed because that affected people’s decisions,” Franklin said. “But you also didn’t completely know or understand all the rules of engagement and how it’s going to be worked out because it was still being worked through in court.”
What is known is that former athletes will receive back pay, current athletes will be paid and rosters will be trimmed.
“It’s like anything else,” Franklin said. “You can’t be stubborn and say, ‘This is how we’ve always done it.’ You’re going to have to adjust to the new rules and embrace them. Part of that is getting our players to understand that this is going to be a different season than they’re used to.”
