Explaining NCAA settlement and what it means for the future of college football

Friday was a big day for the NCAA and the future of college football (and other collegiate sports) as a settlement was agreed upon that would restructure the landscape of amateur athletics.

The NCAA and its Power Five conferences all voted to approve a settlement on three antitrust lawsuits, according to reports. The settlement is a multi-billion dollar deal that would pay out about $2.75 billion to former Division 1 athletes. Along with that, the settlement includes a plan that would pay future athletes a share of the power conference schools' revenue.

Basically, those power conference schools would be able to distribute about 22 percent of its average annual revenue to its student athletes -- the report states that it's projected to be more than $20 million per school.

So while the former athletes will get their share of $2.75 billion, future athletes, starting as early as 2025, will get a share of their school's revenue. That's something we have never seen in college athletics and it's been what athletes have been fighting for now for what feels like decades.

This is a massive change to the landscape of college athletics and it's going to benefit these student-athletes more than it ever has. With NIL likely going to remain in place, they will be able to maximize their college experience by making their fair share of income based on what they bring to their respective programs.

There might be a slight downside to this, however. While the NIL may change because of this, the future of walk-ons could be in jeopardy. There is talk that with this settlement, there could come a roster cap (let's say 85 for football) instead of a scholarship cap. So teams would be able to give every play a scholarship, but walk-ons would likely be no more. Let's hope that doesn't happen.

All in all, this feels like a great move for the future of the sport and the power conferences are going to benefit from this massively.