Power Conferences Set Initial Revenue Sharing Cap Number for College Sports in 2025

The revenue-sharing era of college athletics is here, and now student-athletes will be putting more money in their pockets than ever before.

Revenue sharing across college sports will begin in the 2025-26 academic year, and as schools prepare for an unprecedented moment in collegiate athletics, the four power conferences sent their members an initial revenue cap number for next year, according to a report from Ross Dellenger of Yahoo.

According to the report from Dellenger, the expectation is that schools will operate under a "projected" cap of $20.5 million next school year. The cap is 22% of Power 4 (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC) revenues from the previous academic year. Additionally, the cap has built in escalators of 4% in years two and three, before being recalculated in year four.

Schools are welcome to distribute the $20.5 million across its sports however they see fit. However, the expectation is that most power conference schools will heavily skew the payouts towards football and basketball players.

The revenue-sharing era of college athletics stems from the House v. NCAA court case that led to a settlement that stipulated $2.8 billion in back-pay to former athletes, a $20+ billion revenue sharing plan for current and future athletes (which is beginning in 2025-26) and new roster rules and enforcement for the power conferences in college athletics.

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Mike McDaniel is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where he has worked since January 2022. His work has been featured at InsideTheACC.com, SB Nation, FanSided and more. McDaniel hosts the Hokie Hangover Podcast, covering Virginia Tech athletics, as well as Basketball Conference: The ACC Football Podcast. Outside of work, he is a husband and father, and an avid golfer.

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