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College sports on verge of seismic shift with revenue sharing

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College sports on verge of seismic shift with revenue sharing

College athletics as we know it could be on the brink of change, thanks in large part to an upcoming antitrust lawsuit that is set to go to trial in January 2025. 

The most talked about subject in college athletics at the moment centers around revenue sharing for student athletes, along with former players involved in the House vs. NCAA lawsuit. As we currently stand, the lawsuit filed against the NCAA by current and former players could lead to a judgment of nearly $4 billion to the plaintiffs. 

Most experts agree the NCAA will end up having to pay these athletes, with a judgment that could rule in the plaintiffs favor and change the landscape of college athletics when it comes to revenue sharing. According to a report from Pete Thamel and Dan Murphy, the lawsuits have been at the forefront of conversations by conference commissioners and NCAA leaders, which led to ‘deep discussions’ regarding the matter last week in Dallas, where CFP leaders held their Spring summit. 

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey speaks during Day One of 2023 SEC Media Days at Grand Hyatt Nashville on July 17, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee.  (Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)

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Besides having to classify athletes as employees of a particular university, the NCAA is trying its hardest to stay away from this classification. One of the more difficult conversations being had besides revenue sharing with current student athletes centers around the NCAA being forced to backpay athletes, which could lead to around $1 billion in settlement figures. 

The ongoing settlement discussions would keep all sides out of a court room. One of the bigger components of this upcoming trial is to reach a settlement that is worth the fight. The talk of creating a revenue sharing model with athletes has led to a sense of urgency to come up with a plan that will be smart enough to last. 

The antitrust lawsuit at the center of this significant shift in the current landscape in college sports is seeking retro-pay for damages that have occurred due to former athletes not being able to cash-in on their name, image and likeness.  

It is important to note that the ongoing lawsuits and revenue sharing are two different entities, though the NCAA and conference leaders are trying to agree on a plan that could take care of both issues, almost at the same time. 

In reality, the House vs. NCAA lawsuit might be the biggest moment in the history of college athletics, especially if you consider the ramifications of not coming up with a settlement that would make the lawsuit go away. As part of the ongoing discussions about where the NCAA will go, it should be noted that revenue sharing with student-athletes might be the most logical route. 

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One thing to remember in the midst of all of this commotion is that athletic departments across the country are currently discussing ways to make life sustainable when revenue sharing is introduced. Even with the amount of money schools in the SEC and Big Ten are making from television contracts, there will still be the need to manage budgets across the country. 

Over the course of the last few months, a number of conference commissioners, spearheaded by the SEC and Big Ten, have quietly agreed that creating a new model for revenue sharing is the right move, though it will cost conferences and the NCAA a good chunk of money. 

Miami Hurricanes women’s basketball players Haley Cavinder (14) and Hanna Cavinder (15) have more than $1 million in endorsements and have been at the forefront of the college sports NIL movement. (Al Diaz/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

According to figures that have been reported over the past month, that figure could end up being anywhere between $13-20 million annually for each school in revenue sharing. This would also lead to an NFL like salary cap for colleges. Though this will likely be the case for most Power-4 schools, it will be interesting to see how this works for Group of Five institutions, who do not carry the same weight financially as others. 

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But, just like any deal, there are many obstacles and negotiations still have a long ways to go. 

Power-4 Conferences Lead The Way In Terms Of Potential Revenue Share

LSU Tigers gymnast Olivia Dunne walks on to the floor before the NCAA Women’s National Gymnastics Tournament Championship at Dickies Arena. (Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)

The most obvious part of this whole conversation and negotiations regarding potential revenue-sharing in college sports is centered around the Power-4 conferences. For schools in the Big Ten, SEC, Big 12 and ACC, the idea of having to split its revenue with athletes will come a bit easier than the commissioners running the AAC or Sun-Belt conference. 

If you break it down to a simple form, all of this can be tied to the massive amounts of revenue gained from non-television routes. For most of these schools in Power-4, they have ticket sales, merchandise, booster donations and conference payouts. Yes, a majority of the revenue distributed every year comes from massive contracts with the likes of ESPN, FOX, CBS and NBC, but the schools that have the backing of their powerful conference have much more wiggle-room when it comes to expenses. 

Could the addition of revenue sharing force some schools to halt certain construction or projects on the docket? Sure, but this might only be for a short term period, as schools figure out a path to make sure their student-athletes get a cut of the potential revenue sharing model. 

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Also, we cannot forget the non-revenue sports in these discussions. For sports like softball, baseball and even basketball, a majority of schools do not turn a profit, and that’s not even factoring in the Olympic sports. So, what does revenue sharing look like under Title IX, or for a majority of the sports that are losing money on a yearly basis? This will certainly be a major talking point over the next year, as the NCAA cannot afford any more lawsuits to be filed against them. 

We Are Certainly At A Crossroads For The Future Of College Athletics

Arch Manning #16 of the Texas Longhorns warms up prior to playing against the Washington Huskies during the CFP Semifinal Allstate Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome on January 01, 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

If you were looking for the turning point in the world of college athletics, we are at the fork in the road. As the pending litigation nears, conference commissioners are working on a deadline, and this is moving at a high-rate of speed. 

We are approaching spring meetings for every conference around the country, with the SEC set to meet in Destin during Memorial Day week. The ACC and Big Ten will also hold their annual meetings around this time as well, and the conversations will certainly ramp-up during this period. School administrators want to know what type of funding they will need to be looking towards, and a lot of questions will need to be answered by commissioners. 

Jim Cavale, who is the founder of Athletes.org and now represents the UAB football team as their player’s association representative, had this to say about the upcoming change in collegiate sports. 

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“The NCAA and its power conferences cannot create a sustainable model without their respective college athletes speaking into and co-creating that solution,” Cavale mentioned. “This is why we’re organizing college athletes into their own players association through to empower them to play an active role in negotiating any new deal. We’re encouraged that more and more college athletics leaders acknowledge that revenue sharing is part of the future of college athletics. The NCAA potentially settling pending lawsuits is a positive signal but this will not complete the creation of a sustainable, new solution that current college athletes will have negotiated or agreed to.”

Obviously, this affects all sports, so you can expect athletic directors to have plenty of questions, and will be looking for answers. This time last year, we were discussing the effects of NIL and how it was being handled on different campuses around the country, along with transfer rules and how student-athletes could negotiate future earnings. 

Now, we’re headed towards two months of meetings that could shape the future of college athletics. Times have certainly changed, and it’s happening at a rapid pace. 

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Packers’ head-coaching situation thrust into spotlight after playoff loss

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Packers’ head-coaching situation thrust into spotlight after playoff loss

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The Green Bay Packers’ playoff exit on Saturday immediately put added focus on what the organization will do with head coach Matt LaFleur.

The NFL coaching cycle has been the wildest in recent memory, with veteran coaches like John Harbaugh and Pete Carroll being shown the door. Packers fans seemingly put LaFleur on the hot seat following their crushing defeat to the Chicago Bears.

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur reacts during the wild-card playoff game against the Bears Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

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ESPN’s Adam Schefter said Sunday that the Packers will have a major decision to make.

“The Green Bay Packers and their new president, Ed Policy, have a significant decision to make here in the coming days – and that is whether to extend Matt LaFleur’s contract. He’s currently got one year remaining, or to move on from him,” Schefter said. “If they moved on from him, he would automatically go near the top of coaches available and shakeup this current head-coaching cycle yet again.”

Schefter added that Harbaugh could be one of the names that would interest the Packers’ organization.

BEARS’ BEN JOHNSON GIVES FIERY MESSAGE TO TEAM AFTER PLAYOFF WIN: ‘F— THE PACKERS!’

Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur talks after the playoff game, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

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“Notice how we said this belongs to the Packers’ president, Ed Policy. Well, the Packers’ former president from the back in the day was a man by the name of Bob Harlan,” Schefter explained. “Bob Harlan’s son, Brian Harlan, represents John Harbaugh. John Harbaugh is a Midwestern guy, who has a home in the Upper Peninsula, and a lot of people around the league have been wondering if the Packers decide to go in a different direction, if all of a sudden the Green Bay Packers might fall to the top of John Harbaugh’s list as the top available choice for him.

“This has been a wild, crazy coaching cycle, and we may be just scratching the surface.”

Green Bay Packers’ Matthew Golden celebrates his touchdown against the Bears Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

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Green Bay finished 9-7-1 this season. LaFleur is 76-40-1 as the Packers’ head coach with a 3-6 record in the playoffs.

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Crossroads students begin push to make pickleball a varsity sport

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Crossroads students begin push to make pickleball a varsity sport

For brothers Boone and Ford Casady, pickleball is more than just a game, it is a passion. The 16-year-old twins are among the top junior players on the planet, but more important to them than trophies and medals is a desire to spread the fastest-growing sport in America to high schools and colleges.

Their vision, combined with the persistence of fellow Crossroads sophomores Samantha Leeds and Hannah Carey, has birthed the L.A. High School Pickleball League, the first of its kind in California. The first match will be Jan. 24 at the Santa Monica Pickleball Center.

Teams from Crossroads, Brentwood, Windward, Palisades, Notre Dame and Santa Monica Pacifica Christian will participate, and possibly several more.

Matches will be biweekly with all schools competing at the same shared location. The match format is loosely based on high school tennis with three doubles lines, one singles line and “friendlies” — ensuring that beginners, alternates and developing players all get playing time. The season culminates with semifinals and a league championship.

“My brother and I grew up playing competitive tennis and baseball,” Boone said. “We’d been playing tennis since we were about 3 and in eighth grade we moved to Barcelona to train at the Emilio Sánchez Academy for tennis. We were first introduced to pickleball earlier while we were in Mexico playing with friends and we immediately fell in love with it. We entered our first tournament in Palm Springs and realized we’d found something special.

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“We noticed that so many juniors were training and competing individually but there wasn’t a school-based structure like you have in other varsity sports. We decided to change that. We wanted girls to be involved from the start — it was important to us that the league be coed and inclusive to reflect how competitive girls pickleball already is. We’re also co-founders of the Crossroads Pickleball Club along with Samantha and Hannah and we’re working to grow participation on campus and across L.A.”

The four founders of the L.A. High School Pickleball League play mixed doubles.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

Unlike most youth sports initiatives, the league was not created by adults or administrators, it was built entirely by students. Over the last two years they have coordinated with the Southern Section for recognition and guidance, worked with Crossroads administrators to establish pickleball as a school-sanctioned varsity sport, organized early intramural and inter-school tournaments, built communication networks among local high schools and helped other schools begin turning their club teams into varsity programs.

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“In high school sports, students usually join a system that already exists,” Leeds said. “With pickleball, we had to build the system ourselves.”

Boone defeated Ford to earn the No. 1 seed at the 2024 Junior PPA National Championships, but they met again for the gold medal and this time Ford won. They also took the gold in doubles and finished No. 1 and No. 2 in the country in the 14s division.

At the 2025 Junior PPA National Championships, the brothers took silver and bronze in the Boys U16 singles and partnered for silver in doubles. They were also presented the Community Assist Award to acknowledge their initiative in starting the Los Angeles High School Pickleball League. They are straight-A students and play shortstop and third base on the varsity baseball team.

So far, their toughest competition in pickleball has been each other.

“Boone and I practice together all the time and we play against each other constantly,” Ford said. “Boone knows the part of my game to attack and I know what to do against him so we always have great matches. No matter who wins, we hug it out at the end.”

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The siblings played in their first pro event of the year Saturday — the Masters Tournament in Palm Springs.

Leeds and Carey were introduced to pickleball in eighth grade.

“I remember leaving PE after playing pickleball, heading to soccer practice and honestly feeling kind of bored,” Leeds recalled. “All I wanted to do was keep playing pickleball.”

“Samantha and I got randomly paired to do pickleball in PE,” said Carey, who lost her home in the Palisades fire. “Most kids would sit out, look bored, or try to skip but as the pickleball nets went up our peers were engaged, exhilarated and connecting over their love of pickleball. So Samantha and I started making petitions to create a league.”

The girls, then 13, had a meeting with Anthony Locke, head of school at Crossroads, and made a pitch deck. Using her skills as a filmmaker Leeds created a short sizzle video to help show what pickleball could look like as a real school sport.

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“We were told that forming school-based teams and leagues is a necessary first step towards eventual CIF recognition,” she said. “I created a Varsity Team Starter Kit, outlining the steps we used to establish pickleball as a school-sanctioned varsity sport. Leaders at other schools are actively using it to establish their own teams.”

Added Carey: “We connected with Boone and Ford, which was such an honor considering their talent and passion for the sport. We decided to join forces and use our resources together to further our process of creating a league.”

The inaugural season runs from January to March but beginning in the 2026-27 school year the plan is to move to the traditional winter sports window, November through January.

“Pickleball has the potential to become a true varsity sport at both the high school and college levels,” Boone said. “We’re so excited to help push it forward.”

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US figure skating power couple makes history with record breaking seventh national championship

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US figure skating power couple makes history with record breaking seventh national championship

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U.S. figure skating stars Madison Chock and Evan Bates made history on Saturday with their record-setting seventh U.S. Figure Skating title in their final competition before the Milan Cortina Olympics.

The three-time reigning world champions, performing a flamenco-style dance to a version of the Rolling Stones hit “Paint It Black” from the dystopian sci-fi Western show “Westworld,” produced a season-best free skate and finished with 228.87 points.

“The feeling that we got from the audience today was unlike anything I’ve ever felt before,” Chock said.

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Madison Chock and Evan Bates of United States perform during ISU World Figure Skating Championships – Boston, at TD Garden,  on March 28, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts.  (Jurij Kodrun – International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty Images)

They’ll be the heavy favorites to win gold next month in Italy.

“I felt so much love and joy,” Chock continued, “and I’m so grateful for this moment.”

U.S. Figure Skating will announce its selections on Sunday.

Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik were second with 213.65 points and Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko were third with 206.95, making those two pairs the likely choices to join Chock and Bates on the American squad for the upcoming Winter Games.

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The men’s medals also were to be decided on Saturday, though two-time world champion Ilia Malinin had built such a lead after his short program that the self-styled “Quad God” would have to stumble mightily to miss out on a fourth consecutive title.

The U.S. also has qualified the maximum of three men’s spots for the Winter Games, and competition is tight between second-place Tomoko Hiwatashi, fan favorite Jason Brown, Andrew Torgashev and Maxim Naumov to round out the nationals podium.

The last time Chock and Bates competed in the Olympics in 2022 in Beijing, they watched their gold initially go to an opponent who was later disqualified for doping violations.

Chock and Bates initially had to settle for team silver with their American teammates on the podium at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Team Russia and Kamila Valieva, who was 15 at the time, stood above them with their gold medals. 

It wasn’t until the end of January 2024, when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) found Valieva guilty of an anti-doping rule violation, when Chock, Bates and the U.S. were declared the rightful 2022 gold medalists. 

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UN URGES COUNTRIES TO HONOR TRUCE DURING WINTER OLYMPICS, NOT DENY VISAS TO ANY NATION’S ATHLETES

Madison Chock and Evan Bates compete in championship ice dance at the U.S. figure skating championships Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio.  (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Valieva tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned substance, during an anti-doping test at the Russian Figure Skating Championships in December 2021. She was suspended for four years and stripped of all competitive results since that date.

Chock and Bates spoke about what their message to Valieva would be today during an interview at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee media summit in October. 

“It’s hard to, I think, imagine what a 15-year-old has gone through and under that kind of situation,” Bates said. “And I know how stressful it is, being an elite athlete as an adult, as a 36-year-old. And I think that grace should be given to humans across the board. And we can never really know the full situation, at least from our point of view. … I genuinely don’t know what I would say to her.”

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Chock added, “I would just wish her well like as I would. I think life is short. And, at the end of the day, we’re all human just going through our own human experience together. And regardless of what someone has or hasn’t done and how it has affected you, I think it’s important to remember we’re humans as a collective, and we’re all here for this, our one moment on earth, at the same time. And I just wish people to have healthy, happy lives, full of people that love them.”

Chock and Bates had to wait more than two years after the initial Olympics to get their rightful gold medals, and they were finally presented with them during a ceremony at the Paris Olympics last summer.

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Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the USA perform in the Gala Exhibition during the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final Nagoya at IG Arena on December 07, 2025 in Nagoya, Japan.  (Atsushi Tomura – International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty Images)

Chock, Bates and teammates Karen Chen, Nathan Chen, Zachary Donohue, Brandon Frazier, Madison Hubbell, Alexa Knierim and Vincent Zhou were given a specialized gold medal ceremony to receive the medals in front of more than 13,000 fans. 

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Chock and Bates became the first ice dancers to win three consecutive world championships in nearly three decades in March when they defeated Canadian rivals Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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