Estimated 2025-26 Revenue Sharing – Football Teams
Under the proposed settlement in House V NCAA, schools will be able to share revenue with their athletes not to exceed the lesser of 22% of their annual athletic revenues or $ 21 million per year. We analyzed the most recent NCAA financial reporting from several NCAA I public universities and arrived at an estimated range for football team revenue sharing scheduled to begin in the 2025-26 season:
| Estimated Revenue Sharing - Football | Conference | Div | Per Player Low -end | Per Player High-end | # of Players | Total Revenue Sharing 2025 | Per Team Low-end | Per Team High- end | Non-Team revenue % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | SEC | FBS | 144,436 | 169,618 | 105 | 21,000,000 | 15,165,811 | 17,809,939 | 15% |
| Washington | Big Ten | FBS | 141,763 | 164,586 | 105 | 21,000,000 | 14,885,142 | 17,281,512 | 14% |
| Oregon | Big Ten | FBS | 114,512 | 164,346 | 105 | 21,000,000 | 12,023,722 | 17,256,295 | 30% |
| Ohio State | Big Ten | FBS | 117,580 | 160,582 | 105 | 21,000,000 | 12,345,920 | 16,861,118 | 27% |
| Wisconsin | Big Ten | FBS | 124,329 | 156,551 | 105 | 21,000,000 | 13,054,577 | 16,437,853 | 21% |
| Tennessee | SEC | FBS | 129,316 | 154,718 | 105 | 21,000,000 | 13,578,227 | 16,245,389 | 16% |
| Mississippi | SEC | FBS | 103,096 | 151,389 | 105 | 21,000,000 | 10,825,060 | 15,895,816 | 32% |
| Illinois | Big Ten | FBS | 127,088 | 135,603 | 105 | 21,000,000 | 13,344,218 | 14,238,265 | 6% |
| Louisville | ACC | FBS | 91,796 | 134,167 | 105 | 21,000,000 | 9,638,536 | 14,087,550 | 32% |
| Kansas State | Big-12 | FBS | 112,820 | 130,226 | 105 | 16,751,854 | 11,846,115 | 13,673,694 | 13% |
| Iowa State | Big-12 | FBS | 102,869 | 125,561 | 105 | 18,365,450 | 10,801,250 | 13,183,871 | 18% |
| Utah | Big-12 | FBS | 118,422 | 124,379 | 105 | 16,049,837 | 12,434,307 | 13,059,791 | 5% |
| Colorado | Big-12 | FBS | 87,244 | 107,173 | 105 | 14,090,852 | 9,160,609 | 11,253,147 | 19% |
| Colorado State | MW | FBS | 29,310 | 39,546 | 105 | 5,117,008 | 3,077,549 | 4,152,287 | 26% |
| Appalachian State | SBC | FBS | 19,716 | 31,750 | 105 | 3,626,477 | 2,070,180 | 3,333,741 | 38% |
| Idaho | Big Sky | FCS | 6,597 | 9,807 | 105 | 1,270,624 | 692,696 | 1,029,786 | 33% |
| North Dakota | MVC | FCS | 3,323 | 4,731 | 105 | 2,472,797 | 348,875 | 496,724 | 30% |
| Tennessee Tech | OVC | FCS | 1,532 | 3,035 | 105 | 721,811 | 160,891 | 318,671 | 50% |
Due primarily to lucrative TV contracts, football accounts for over 80% of the team specific revenues at almost all power conference schools, so football players will be the major beneficiaries of revenue sharing. At most power conference schools, the football team will likely be receiving a revenue sharing allocation of between $ 13 to $ 17 million per year to divide among its players.
A significant variable here is athletic department revenue not allocated to a specific team. Based on the NCAA reports this can be anywhere from 6% to 32% of school athletic department revenue. Our low-end and high-end estimates for both average revenue sharing per player and per team are determined on this:
The low-end range for player and team averages includes only revenue sharing specifically attributed to football, while the high-end range also includes an allocation of the non-team specific revenue. Schools with a low percentage of non-team specific revenue such as Utah (5%) or Illinois (6%) will have a much smaller difference between the low and high numbers compared to schools such as Louisville (32%) or Mississippi (32%). With the onset of revenue sharing, it’s likely that schools will be motivated to fine-tune their reporting and minimize non-specific team revenues on future reports. For our purposes, we allocated non-specific revenue in the same percentage as each school’s teams revenue percentage. Most NCAA I schools will likely be allocating revenue sharing to football on the high-end as reported above.
These are averages per athlete. In actuality, a few players per team will get substantially higher than the average, while many will get much less. There are 105 Players eligible for revenue sharing on a NCAA I football roster and there will be vast differences in what they each may receive. For example, a coach may make a commitment of say $ 1.4 million per year to land a 5-star quarterback recruit. Then maybe $ 700,000 per year for some running backs and receivers, plus $ 500,000 annually for each starting offensive lineman to block for the running backs and protect that pricey 5-star quarterback recruit. It can quickly add up, and for players who see little if any playing time, their revenue share will also likely be little or none.
Additions or Changes? Contact us at: edits@nil-ncaa.com
Statistics compiled & edited by Patrick O’Rourke, CPA Washington, DC 