'Loopholes have won the day': Cap? What cap? Spending on players growing even after NCAA settlement

The settlement of a class-action lawsuit against the NCAA and its most powerful conferences this year was supposed to cap the amount of money schools could pay athletes and establish stricter guidelines for name, image and likeness payments.

But the introduction of direct revenue sharing with athletes and new reporting requirements hasn’t stopped increased spending, according to coaches, athletics directors and general managers. Even President Donald Trump noted the high price for college talent recently in the Oval Office, and it’s not clear that anyone — in the pursuit of championships and on-field glory — can help themselves.

“Loopholes have won the day,” NC State football coach Dave Doeren said Wednesday.

The result is a continuing financial race across college athletics, especially football and men’s basketball, with seemingly no end to increasing costs at a time when the NCAA has abandoned or been forced to abandon its amateurism rules under a barrage of legal challenges and moves toward a professional model. Programs and conferences are working with private equity and trying to find new revenue streams amid the financial challenges.

Meanwhile, athletes are in their fifth year of being able to profit from their names, images and likenesses (NIL). And looser transfer rules implemented at the same time have enabled the movement of athletes akin to free agency in professional sports.

“Let’s make no doubt about it: We’re in a professional era,” University of North Carolina football general manager Michael Lombardi told reporters during a press conference this month.

https://www.wral.com/news/local/college-sports-nil-revenue-sharing-cap-house-settlement-december-2025/