After the new ruling on NIL, college sports will never be the same.
In a landmark decision, a federal judge ruled that schools can now pay their athletes directly, bringing an end to a lengthy legal process between the NCAA and the lawyers representing the organization’s athletes.
Schools will reportedly start paying their athletes as soon as July 1, with the NCAA set to pay nearly $2.8 billion in damages over the next 10 years. Those payments will be for former athletes who competed in college at any time from 2016 to this year.
As for how the changes affect current Syracuse teams and athletes, each school can pay its athletes up to roughly $20.5 million across all sports for the 2025-26 academic year. The payments will be in addition to any scholarships or existing benefits any athletes already have, and the $20.5 million cap will increase every year over the next decade.
On the surface, this is a major win for athlete representation. The NCAA was only delaying the inevitable by trying to fight this, and the new system was always the direction college sports were headed after NIL was introduced.
At the same time, it spells trouble for Syracuse sports, specifically men’s basketball. Last year, the Orange struggled to one of the worst seasons in program history, and it was a step behind the ACC in its NIL spending. As a result, their roster wasn’t good enough to compete in a conference that sent a historically low number of teams to the NCAA Tournament this year.
Syracuse was active in the transfer portal this offseason to address those weaknesses, but next offseason could define how the Orange approach building their roster for years to come.
If it took Syracuse this long to adjust to the NIL system, there’s no reason to believe they won’t have the same struggles in a new system where college athletes are paid directly.
For now, there’s plenty to look forward to for Syracuse basketball fans as the team will be competitive in the ACC next season, especially with the arrival of incoming top prospects like Kiyan Anthony. Looming next offseason, though, could be an offseason that either cements Syracuse as one of the best basketball programs in the country or one that can’t keep up in a new era of college basketball.
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