Sports
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)
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.
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.
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.
“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.
Trump says there’s ‘no time frame’ to secure Iran deal
Republican Minnesota Senate candidate Tom Weiler joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss President Donald Trump’s blockade in the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S.-Iranian conflict continues and react to Gov. Tim Walz’s, D-Minn., criticism of the president.
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Saudi Arabia was among the countries seeing missiles fly into their airspace as a conflict broke out in the Middle East between the U.S. and Iran.
The prospect of Iran targeting its Middle Eastern neighbors like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates put some sporting events on hold and questioned others. Formula 1 races in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were canceled and rumors swirled around whether future WWE events could be held in the kingdom.
Roman Reigns celebrates his win during WWE’s Royal Rumble at Riyadh Season Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 31, 2026. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
As the Trump administration brokered a ceasefire with Iran, WWE announced on Thursday that its Night of Champions premium live event will be held in Riyadh on June 27.
“We are proud to welcome Night of Champions back to Riyadh and look forward to delivering another unforgettable night of WWE action for fans in the Kingdom and around the world,” General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Al-Sheikh said in a news release.
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Sami Zayn makes his entrance during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
The release touted that WrestleMania 43 will still be held in Riyadh in 2027. It will be the first time that WrestleMania is held outside the U.S.
WWE president Nick Khan was adamant before WrestleMania 42 that the event will still take place in Saudi Arabia despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
“We’re doing WrestleMania next year in Saudi,” he said at a Sports Business Journal event, via The Sporting Tribune. “First time ever, WrestleMania will be outside the United States or Canada. And we’ve had a big, fruitful partnership with them.”
John Cena wrestles CM Punk during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
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He added that those complaining about WrestleMania being held in Saudi Arabia were a “vocal minority.”
Thousand-dollar tickets and hundreds of dollars in fees shocked some hopeful Olympic fans this month, but they did not keep LA28 from boasting strong sales in the committee’s first ticket drop.
LA28 announced Thursday that it sold more than 4 million Olympic tickets during the first ticket drop. The private organizing committee will have a second ticket drop in August with “refreshed inventory across all Olympic sports at a range of price points.”
But after the popularity of the first purchasing period, many of the lower-priced tickets have already been scooped up.
LA28 said roughly half of the total 1 million $28 tickets were sold during the locals presale, which was limited to people living near venue cities in Southern California and Oklahoma City.
The average price per Olympic ticket is less than $200, which includes a mandatory 24% service fee, and LA28 said about 75% of all tickets, including final events, will be under $400. The premier seats at high-demand events command more than $1,000 per ticket, but the highest priced categories make up about 5% of the total ticket inventory.
Artistic gymnastics sold out the quickest in Drop 1. Four new Olympic sports — flag football, lacrosse, softball and squash — sold all their available inventory for the first drop. After five days of local presale, global ticket sales opened and drew fans from 85 countries and all 50 states and U.S. territories. The largest international sales came from the United Kingdom, Canada, Mexico and Japan.
For the first female-majority Olympic Games, LA28 reported that women’s Olympic sessions outsold men’s 93% to 88% during the first drop.
“The response to our initial on-sale was nothing short of historic. Fans from near and far have spoken: the world wants to be part of the LA28 Games,” LA28 chief executive officer Reynold Hoover said in a statement. “The success of Drop 1 is about more than momentum — it reflects LA28’s commitment to delivering a fiscally responsible Games that create a lasting legacy for Los Angeles and its communities.”
Drop 2, which will begin in August, will have additional tickets across all Olympic sports, including those that may have sold out during the first purchasing windows. The registration period for Drop 2 opened Thursday and will continue until July 22. Fans who registered for the first drop of tickets but did not receive a time slot and fans who did not buy their maximum 12 general ticket allotment will automatically be entered into the random lottery Drop 2. The new registration period is only required for anybody who did not sign up for the initial drop.
Fans are still limited to 12 Olympic tickets and up to 12 soccer tickets that don’t count toward the general maximum. There is a four ticket per ceremony limit for the opening and closing ceremony that count toward the 12-ticket maximum, which is cumulative across all LA28 presales and ticket drops.
LA28 will have multiple ticket drops with assigned purchasing time slots before ticket sales move to a first-come, first-served format closer to the Games, which open on July 14, 2028. LA28 began its ticketing process earlier than most other Olympic Games with tickets going on sale more than two years in advance of the opening ceremony. The early timeline has created excitement for the first Summer Olympics in the United States since Atlanta 1996, but also prompted concerns about scheduling. Fans clamored for tickets with little information about which teams or athletes would be competing in most sessions.
Tickets are not refundable, but fans can opt for verified resale when LA28 launches its official resale system in 2027. AXS and Eventim is the official secondary ticket marketplace of the LA28 Games and Ticketmaster and Sports Illustrated Tickets have also signed on as additional verified resale platforms.
LA28 will have 14 million tickets available for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, which would eclipse the record of 12 million tickets sold for the Paris Games. Paris 2024 sold an about 9.5 million tickets for the Olympics, but used a different ticket system than LA28. For Paris, 3.5 million tickets were sold during the first phase, during which fans were required to buy tickets to at least three different sports instead of the option for single-event tickets available during LA28’s Drop 1 process.
Tickets for the 2028 Paralympics, which will be the first in L.A.’s history, will go on sale in 2027. Ticket sales and hospitality are expected to cover about $2.5 billion of LA28’s expected $7.1 billion budget for the first Games in L.A. in more than 40 years.
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An envoy for President Donald Trump has reportedly asked FIFA to replace Iran with Italy in the 2026 World Cup this summer.
The Financial Times reported the plan is an effort to repair the relationship between Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, which soured after the former’s comments against Pope Leo XIV regarding the war with Iran.
United States special envoy Paolo Zampolli suggested the idea to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
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President Donald Trump receives the FIFA Peace Prize from FIFA President Gianni Infantino during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 5, 2025. (Emilee Chinn/FIFA)
“I confirm I have suggested to Trump and Infantino that Italy replace Iran at the World Cup. I’m an Italian native, and it would be a dream to see the Azzurri at a U.S.-hosted tournament,” Zampolli told the outlet. “With four titles, they have the pedigree to justify inclusion.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Fox News Digital.
Italy had a chance to be in the World Cup already, but it lost in a penalty shootout to Bosnia and Herzegovina in a qualifying playoff final.
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Italy became the first World Cup-winning team to miss three consecutive tournaments after the 4-1 penalty shootout loss earlier this month.
“We still don’t believe it that we’re out and that it happened in this manner,” Italy’s Leonardo Spinazzola told reporters at the time, according to the New York Post.
“It’s upsetting for everyone. For us, for our families and for all the kids who have never seen Italy at a World Cup.”
While Zampolli told Infantino about his proposed plan, FIFA’s president said Iran “for sure” will play in the World Cup despite the conflict involving the U.S.
Mehdi Taremi of Iran celebrates after scoring a goal during a 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers Group A game against Uzbekistan at Azadi Stadium in Tehran March 25, 2025. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu)
“The Iranian team is coming, for sure,” Infantino said during the CNBC Invest in America Forum earlier this month in Washington, D.C.
“We hope that, by then, of course, the situation will be a peaceful situation. That would definitely help. But Iran has to come, of course. They represent their people. They have qualified. The players want to play.”
Infantino visited the Iranian national team in Turkey, which is where it has its training camp.
All three of Iran’s group stage games are scheduled to be played in the U.S. That remains the case after Iranian government officials suggested to FIFA that their games be moved to Mexico because they could not travel to the U.S.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum revealed FIFA’s rejection of Iran’s request, and it is insisting Iran play where it’s scheduled — SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, and Lumen Field in Seattle. Iran said earlier this month it would only decide on its team’s participation once it heard from FIFA regarding its relocation request.
Iran is scheduled to play at SoFi Stadium against New Zealand June 16 to begin its tournament. It will also play Belgium at the stadium before finishing group play against Mo Salah and Egypt in Seattle June 26.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino attends an international friendly between Mexico and Portugal at Banorte Stadium in Mexico City March 28, 2026. (Antonio Torres/FIFA/Getty Images)
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Trump wrote in a Truth Social post last month that Iran would be welcome to compete in the World Cup as scheduled, though it might not be “appropriate” considering the conflict.
“The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety,” he wrote.
Trump also told Politico, “I really don’t care,” when asked about Iran’s participation in the tournament. Infantino, who has a strong relationship with Trump, said Trump has “reiterated” to him that the U.S. welcomes Iran’s team to compete.
Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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