NIL & Revenue Sharing – NCAA Lacrosse

Estimated 2026 Revenue Sharing – NCAA I Lacrosse teams:

Football and Men’s basketball will account for close to 90% of revenue sharing payments at most Power 4 schools. The remaining 10% results in an average payout of around $ 5,187 per athlete in all other sports including lacrosse:

Revenue Sharing Estimates Power 4 Schools: 2025-26 *		Operating Revenue %	Allocation to Team ($)	# of eligible Athletes *	Average per Athlete ($)
Football		72.7%	14,910,614	105	142,006
Men's Basketball		15.1%	3,084,215	15	205,614
All Other Sports		12.2%	2,505,171	483	5,187
2025-26 Average		100%	20,500,000	603

* These estimates are based on 2025 team specific operating revenues as reported to the NCAA. In almost all cases, the maximum $ 20.5 million revenue sharing allocation will ultimately be reduced by the $ 2.5 million dollar for dollar offset for new scholarships. Eligible athletes are based on the new roster limits effective July 1, 2025.

These are averages, a few players may receive much more, while most will likely receive less. These estimates are for revenue sharing payments only (i.e. Institutional NIL), they do not include third-party NIL compensation. Most sports will likely receive no revenue sharing allocation, but will be eligible for greater scholarship awards.

Big potential increase in athletic scholarship awards for NCAA I Lacrosse players:

While lacrosse players will not receive substantial revenue sharing payments, most will be eligible for significantly higher athletic scholarship awards. As part of the House v NCAA settlement, scholarship limits have been removed, and roster limits have been established for each sport. For participating schools this would result in every player effectively being eligible for a full scholarship.  For men’s lacrosse, the athletic scholarship limit has been increased from 12.6 to 48, almost quadrupling the available scholarship money at most NCAA I schools:

2025 Scholarship Awards Men's Lacrosse Teams *	Conference	2025 Roster	# of Player awards 2025	Total Team ($) Awards 2025	Average Player Award 2025 ($)	Maximum Player Award 2026 ($)	Roster Limit **	Out-of-State Average Cost of Attendance ($)
Maryland	Big Ten	50	49	760,787	15,526	65,294	48	66,762
Massachusetts	MAC	48	40	619,376	15,484	59,521	48	59,759
Michigan	Big Ten	56	51	1,031,687	20,229	86,131	48	82,277
North Carolina	ACC	54	46	762,070	16,567	45,931	48	60,040
Ohio State	Big Ten	49	46	800,550	17,403	60,509	48	59,528
Penn State	Big Ten	49	46	694,447	15,097	63,133	48	62,884
Rutgers	Big Ten	51	41	796,859	19,436	71,187	48	59,000
Utah	Big 12	51	47	745,195	15,855	60,192	48	61,640
Virginia	ACC	50	35	935,632	26,732	75,988	48	84,446
Average - 9 teams *		51	45	794,067	18,037	65,321	48	66,260

For Women’s lacrosse, the athletic scholarship limit has been increased from 12 to 38, effectively tripling the available scholarship money at most NCAA I schools:

2025 Scholarship Awards Women's Lacrosse Teams *	Conference	2025 Roster	# of Player awards 2025	Total Team ($) Awards 2025	Average Player Award 2025 ($)	Maximum Player Award 2026 ($)	Roster Limit **	Out-of-State Average Cost of Attendance ($)
Akron	MAC	34	33	174,121	5,276	35,268	38	38,126
Arizona State	Big 12	32	32	548,640	17,145	67,576	38	54,724
California	ACC	33	32	538,092	16,815	69,819	38	78,189
Central Michigan	MAC	34	33	264,146	8,004	31,628	38	30,709
Charlotte	American	28	23	415,860	18,081	31,532	38	41,522
Cincinnati	Big 12	39	31	549,011	17,710	49,454	38	52,212
Clemson	ACC	33	34	953,772	28,052	82,226	38	61,126
Colorado	Big 12	32	31	779,329	25,140	65,905	38	64,778
Connecticut	Big East	36	35	504,083	14,402	48,203	38	64,478
Eastern Michigan	MAC	34	33	492,121	14,913	40,538	38	35,804
Florida	SEC	38	37	647,020	17,487	70,448	38	45,808
James Madison	Sun Belt	35	35	534,964	15,285	45,615	38	50,630
Kennesaw State	CUSA	34	31	333,341	10,753	34,470	38	43,648
Kent State	MAC	40	31	303,663	9,796	38,335	38	41,126
Maryland	Big Ten	34	35	664,688	18,991	65,294	38	66,762
Massachusetts	MAC	40	30	622,261	20,742	59,521	38	59,759
Michigan	Big Ten	42	41	1,074,654	26,211	86,131	38	82,277
North Carolina	ACC	38	31	762,408	24,594	45,931	38	60,040
Ohio State	Big Ten	43	42	651,923	15,522	60,509	38	59,528
Oregon	Big Ten	31	29	726,308	25,045	65,586	38	66,531
Penn State	Big Ten	38	36	872,641	24,240	63,133	38	62,884
Rutgers	Big Ten	36	34	721,230	21,213	71,187	38	59,000
San Diego State	Pac-12	32	33	503,363	15,253	44,937	38	47,704
South Florida	American	41	40	477,462	11,937	38,375	38	37,460
Virginia	ACC	36	34	869,216	25,565	75,988	38	84,446
Average - 25 teams *		36	33	599,373	17,927	55,504	38	55,571

* These averages are for NCAA I public Universities for which we have compiled data from available reporting.
** Roster limits are not mandatory. However, schools opting not to be subject to roster limits must adhere to the prior (lower) scholarship limits. Participating schools must submit certified rosters to the College Sports Commission.

These are potential increases as athletic scholarship awards are optional. Schools can fully fund a sport, or award less than the maximum allowed. However, schools will be pressured to fully fund their sports for both competitive and equity considerations. Scholarships remain one of the primary recruiting tools, and programs offering less than the maximum awards allowed will likely be at a recruiting disadvantage to competitors who are fully funding their teams.

Additionally, one of the objectives of the new NCAA model is to provide enhanced monetary awards for those student-athletes in limited revenue sports. While Football and Men’s basketball will receive close to 90% of revenue sharing payments at most FBS schools, conversely, about 90% of the new potential scholarship awards will go to athletes in Women’s and Men’s sports other than football and basketball.

Number of US College Lacrosse teams:

NCAA I teams represent about 21% of all US College lacrosse teams. There are also many opportunities to play college lacrosse at schools in other divisions and athletic associations:

Intercollegiate Lacrosse Programs 2025-26	Total Members	Men's Teams	Women's Teams
NCAA I	365	77	134
NCAA II	299	80	112
NCAA III	429	236	279
NAIA	226	29	28
NJCAA	433	17	11
Totals	1,752	439	564

Questions on our data? Contact us at: NIL-NCAA.com

Statistics compiled & edited by Patrick O’Rourke, CPA Washington, DC