Florida rallied back to beat Houston in last night’s sometimes sloppy but ultimately enjoyable NCAA title game.
This is me offering a begrudging congrats to all the Gator fans out there — and a genuine one to Woodward Academy grad Will Richard, whose hot shooting kept UF afloat in the first half.
To you? To you I offer a link to this year’s “One Shining Moment” video — and an explanation of the next seismic shift to hit college sports.
Quick links: Gators outlast Houston | Tuesday at the Masters | Kirby on NIL changes
SETTLEMENT ANXIETY
Credit: Brynn Anderson/AP
Credit: Brynn Anderson/AP
The transfer portal and name, image and likeness deals have reshaped college sports in a few short years — and sown plenty of chaos along the way.
How about we do it one more time?
The groundbreaking, $2.8 billion settlement tied to a series of lawsuits is inching toward final approval after a court hearing in California on Monday. Once OK’d, it would pave the way for schools in the five largest conferences to directly compensate athletes.
And as you might’ve guessed, it’s all reasonably confusing — so I figured I’d walk y’all through it.
💵 So … what is this? House vs. NCAA is a federal lawsuit involving former Arizona State swimmer Grant House. It and two other suits essentially argue college athletes should get a cut of their respective schools’ revenue from TV deals, sponsorships and ticket sales.
- The suits are now rolled into one case. And a proposed settlement on track for implementation in July would authorize schools to share about $20.5 million per year with athletes.
🤔 More specifics, please: The deal also includes damages for athletes who played as far back as 2016 and weren’t entitled to full NIL opportunities.
- In all, about 120,000 athletes have filed claims or said they intend to.
On top of that, the NCAA would establish a “clearinghouse” to (theoretically) ensure future NIL deals pay fair market value. The idea there is to prevent exorbitant arrangements that amount to little more than pay-for-play.
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
🐶 How’s UGA gonna handle it? In terms of the $20.5 million, beat writer Connor Riley says $2 million would go to new scholarships.
“Of the remaining $18.5 million Georgia expects to receive,” he said, “75% will go to football, 15% to men’s basketball, 5% to women’s basketball and the remaining 5% to other sports.”
🐝 What about Georgia Tech? Jackets reporter Chad Bishop tells me the administration hasn’t gone public with specifics yet — but vowed to stay competitive in the new landscape.
Athletic director J Batt said this last month: “It’s a massive change. We’re gonna continue to find the opportunity in that change. I feel really good about not only investing in our teams, but also in our commitment across the institution to find that opportunity in change.”
- Batt is also part of the NCAA’s “settlement implementation committee,” so expect Tech to be well-informed and well-prepared.
😬 Any potential drawbacks? Beyond the whole “probably more chaos” thing, you mean? Yes.
Small schools are worried about falling even further behind. The settlement also replaces teams’ scholarship limits with roster limits.
That could effectively eliminate the walk-on athlete — and Georgia football coach Kirby Smart foresees his colleagues easily manipulating the cap too.
“It’s really unfortunate that I don’t know if competitive balance is going to come out of it,” he said recently.
What do you think about all this? Good, bad or a little bit of both? Shoot me an email to sound off!
SUN OVER AUGUSTA
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
The sun’s out in Augusta today, where Monday’s damper-inducing storms have made way for ideal Masters practice round conditions.
Scottie Scheffler and other top contenders are slated to speak with reporters a little later on, so stay tuned for that.
⛳ In the meantime? Check out columnist Ken Sugiura’s dispatch on the top-tier Augusta National accommodations — and keep on scrolling for a look at the pro shop’s hottest item.
GETTING DRAFTY
The Falcons re-signed nickel back Dee Alford on Monday. Which is, admittedly, not very exciting in the grand scheme of things.
But you now what is?
📝 A position-by-position look at this month’s NFL Draft, put together by Hall of Fame beat writer D. Orlando Ledbetter. The fun starts a little later today, so go ahead and bookmark ajc.com/falcons to keep proper tabs on things.
ON TAP TONIGHT
⚾ The Braves (still 1-8 on the season!) open their series against the rival Phillies at 7:15 p.m. on Fan Duel Sports South.
The pitching matchup pits last year’s Cy Young winner (Chris Sale) against last year’s Cy Young runner-up (Zack Wheeler, who’s also an East Paulding High grad).
🏀 The Hawks visit the Magic (7 p.m. on FanDuel Sports Southeast) for a faceoff with playoff implications.
With four games left, Atlanta trails Orlando by one for the seventh seed in the East. If the Hawks can overtake them, they’d host their playoff play-in game instead of going on the road.
ALSO INTERESTING
▶️ Sunday Night Soccer is a big part of the MLS’ plan to make the sport mainstream. Check out this fun AJC video to learn why.
🏅 Dwight Howard and Maya Moore, both Atlanta-area natives, are headed to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
😬 Professional sports shouter Stephen A. Smith says he’s no longer ruling out running for president in 2028. Which … why not? But also … what if we didn’t?
PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
With all due respect to the golfers, the stiffest competition at the Masters may be in the merch shop.
As the AJC’s Stan Awtrey writes, this especially goes for the coveted yard gnome.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
I was going to get my gnome.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of Sports Daily. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.
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