Judge Gives Preliminary Approval for NCAA Settlement Allowing Revenue-Sharing With Athletes

A federal judge on Monday granted preliminary approval to the slightly revised version of a multi-billion-dollar settlement of three athlete-compensation antitrust cases against the NCAA and the Power Five conferences. The decision moves the NCAA and the conferences closer to funding a $2.8 billion damages pool for current and former athletes over a span of 10 years and sets the stage for a fundamental change in college sports — Division I schools being allowed to start paying athletes directly for use of their name, image and likeness, subject to a per-school cap that would increase over time. However, the settlement process is not over, and potentially far from it.