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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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The Big Ten recently approved a rule that caps what each school can spend on athlete deals at $49 million. That includes $21.6 million in revenue sharing under the Houst settlement and up to $27.5 million in school-arranged third-party deals, such as collectives, with at least $5 million going to women's and Olympic sports. Schools that go over that amount face "escalating financial penalties and other disciplinary measures." The rule is effective immediately.
It came about because the old $21.3 million revenue-sharing cap was widely ignored, with top rosters reportedly costing $30 million to $50 million. The Big Ten adopted the new limit unanimously, aligning with the Protect College Sports Act in Congress before that bill has even come to a vote.
On Tuesday, CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz reported that "there's growing belief" that the SEC could soon adopt a similar rule. The two conferences have moved in lockstep, most notably banning former pros from returning to college.
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College football has had an arms race for years. The House settlement gave schools a revenue-sharing cap, but they found ways to funnel third-party money into NIL deals above it, and the College Sports Commission couldn't keep up. Recent reports indicate that there are nearly two dozen football teams with rosters valued at $30 million or more, mostly in the Big Ten and SEC.
A conference-level cap with real penalties is an attempt to bring some order and to protect the league from legal and political pressure. Earlier enforcement ideas floated fines of three to five times the amount a school went over.
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For the SEC, the stakes are massive. It has the richest boosters, the biggest brands and the most tradition, and spending has been a big part of how it stays on top. A cap could level the field with the Big Ten and others, but it could also limit the SEC's ability to outbid its rival conferences.
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