Colleges are taking drastic measures to offset revenue-sharing costs

On July 1, for the first time in college sports history, athletic departments will be able to pay athletes directly. The revenue-sharing model established by the House v. NCAA Settlement allows schools to direct $20.5 million to athletes in the first year of the new model, with that number expected to grow over the duration of the deal. 

Now that the athletes are finally getting their cut, colleges are getting creative about how to offset the additional costs. It was a lengthy process to get the settlement finalized, but it has been known for some time that revenue-sharing would be an integral part of it, so schools had to get prepared, and some took rather drastic measures. 

South Carolina raised its “athletics auxiliary fee” to match Clemson’s

Last October, Clemson made waves by introducing an athletic fee of $150 per semester for students starting in the 2025 academic year. Then, in June, their in-state rival, the South Carolina Gamecocks, followed suit, raising their athletics auxiliary fee to $300 annually per student. Other schools in the SEC have similar measures in place. 

Instead of the yearly fee, Tennessee tacked on its 10% “talent fee” for single-game and season tickets back in September to help prepare to pay athletes in the revenue-sharing model. Along with the 10% increase on all ticket invoices, Tennessee also added an average increase of 4.5% to all football tickets. 

Football is often the biggest financial driver for college athletic departments, with many generating over $100 million in revenue a year, and 10s of millions of dollars in profit. The revenue-sharing payments to players will cut into that profit, which is typically used to float the non-revenue-generating sports, but revenue-sharing isn’t the only part of the settlement that is raising costs for athletic departments. 

The settlement also agreed to set new roster limits, instead of scholarship limits. Teams are allowed to extend scholarship offers to as many athletes as they choose within the roster limit for each given sport. For football, the roster limit is set at 105, up from the previous cap of 85 scholarships. 

College athletes have long deserved a cut. However, with the outrageous cost to run a collegiate athletic department, students may be the ones footing at least some of the bill. If the cost to be competitive in revenue-generating sports, particularly football, continues to rise beyond the point that “athletics fees” no longer cover the difference, then schools may begin to get even more desperate, and non-revenue sports could be at risk.