‘I’m going to start cheating again’: NFL recruiter issues pessimistic verdict as NCAA agrees to pay players

When the NCAA lifted its ban on college athletes earning money in 2021, a new player entered the game: collegiate sports. These grant-funded organizations have quickly become a popular method for athletes to cash in on their NIL, effectively turning accolades into de facto salaries – much to the dismay of many in the world of college sports.

Now, when the division of income appears on the horizon under the so-called $2.8 billion proposed antitrust settlement agreed upon by the NCAA and the nation’s largest conferences, the future of the collectives is up in the air and their role will become even more critical. Notably, this is the first time a college sports school has received direct payments to players, which many people, including NFL recruiter Mike Farrell, don’t like.

Mike Farrell sees the future of CFB’s revenue sharing

Farrell, with his extensive college football knowledge and experience in high school and NFL recruiting, couldn’t ignore the pessimistic side of the income distribution. Taking to X, Farrell candidly declared: “The funniest part of CFB’s new revenue sharing future is that it will even extend to the playing field to some extent. And then everyone will start cheating all over again to push the limits of spin sharing.”

While revenue sharing is intended to level the playing field among collegiate athletes, Farrеll predicts it will only lead to new forms of “cheating” as programs try to gain an advantage. The NCAA and Power Five conferences, together with the law firms Hagens Berman and Winston & Strawn LLP, announced “a landmark antitrust settlement” this will provide billions of dollars in back pay and tens of billions of dollars in future revenue sharing for college athletes.

The goal of the settlement is to allow each school to share up to about $20 million a year with its athletes. But will this be beneficial for non-NIL athletes?

Impact of settlement and future prospects for NCAA athletes

A statement from the law firm to ESPN said more than 10,000 former and current athletes could benefit from the $2.7 billion in compensation. However, a “formula series” will be used to distribute money and solve potential challenges for players without NIL valuation. This aspect of the settlement raises important questions about its possible impact on students.

Currently, the NIL and the transfer portal are two of the best and freest assets in college football. Athletic directors expressed their hopes to ESPN, stating that ““one can hope that the settlement will lay the groundwork for a system in which success on the ground is less dependent on which schools can spend the most money.”

As for the NIL department, the NCAA is optimistic that the new agreement will strengthen NIL guardrails and prompt some schools to hire specific staff to handle NIL matters. Ultimately, this settlement will transform college sports by fundamentally changing the relationship between players and schools by introducing direct compensation for participation.