NCAA House settlement made someone rich, and it wasn't the players

The NCAA House Settlement was supposed to mark a significant turning point in college athletics. It is a $2.7 billion settlement that allows players who never saw a dime to begin getting pay and backpay for being the primary breadwinners for the business of college athletics. Instead, we see a gold rush of sorts by lawyers and policy directors/enforcers. Once again, leaving the players with a small slice of the pie.

On July 11, Judge Claudia Wilken awarded the lawyers for the plaintiffs in the House Settlement case $520 million in legal fees and other associated costs. They will also be able to apply annually for this, up to ten years, to the tune of $250 million. Which means lawyers, of which there are a small number, will be awarded over 3/4 of a billion dollars.

The NCAA athletes fought for fairness and yet the lawyers get rich

While the $2.7 billion is a huge pot of money and is an excellent indication of the future, the reality of who's cashing the checks is another reminder of how far we have to go. The lawyers can walk away with their money now. The athletes are mostly tied up in appeals and will be stuck with mostly low payouts.

According to reports by ESPN, the average players from power conferences in basketball and football will be an average of $135,000. The highest-paid athlete is estimated to be at $1.8 million. It also depends on how many athletes submit claims and can substantiate the earnings they missed out on.

By contrast, USA Today is reporting that only two law firms are involved in this award and thus will be splitting a massive pot of over $750 million. Quick math says that's $375 million per law firm, which is like 300x more than the highest estimated paid player. So here we go again, the rich get rich off the athletes while the athletes get left with scraps.

While the house settlement may be a step forward, it's another good example of a cash grab that isn't going to the actual people that it represents. The players get the short end of the stick again.