Why the NCAA settlement matters for the Ohio State football program

The Ohio State football program has fully embraced NIL. For the last two seasons, they have spent a lot of time figuring out the best way to handle collectives. The Buckeyes have turned NIL into an advantage and it certainly helped when it came to the transfer portal.

Former Ohio State football players didn't get a chance to benefit from NIL rules. The NCAA refused this for years until state laws forced their hands. The Buckeyes of the past could have earned a lot of money during their times in Columbus. That's the basis of a big lawsuit against the NCAA.

Former players from all sports have sued the NCAA for damages related to earnings they could have had during their playing careers had the NCAA not suppressed NIL. Now, they have agreed to a massive settlement. The settlement is worth $2.8 billion across all conferences.

The Big Ten has approved the settlement. So what does that mean for Ohio State? It means they will be responsible for paying a share of the settlement. How big of a share remains unclear, but it likely won't disrupt operational expenses too much. They bring in too much money for that to happen.

This is not the only lawsuit that the NCAA is embroiled in right now, but it is the most significant. I think this is the first step to the NCAA ceasing to exist. The bigger schools will likely pull away, although that could still take some time. Ohio State would be on that list of schools.

There is a lot of legal stuff still to be decided. Current Ohio State athletes will keep receiving NIL money and that will likely stay uncapped for the near future. The NCAA had its shot to enact rules and stuck its head in the sand. Now they are paying dearly for it.