Title IX. End of discussion. If any player is paid a share of revenue then they all have to. If they have to cut all non revenue sports then all sports are cut. The 1st lawsuit to get filed will get a temporary injunction and it will force schools to either pay everyone or drop sports entirely.
NIL is a separate fund as it is based on an individual's own business interest and not institutional revenue.
This is just the start but a big start. Without a change in the law there is zero way that football players (and/or basketball players) can be paid without paying all scholarship athletes a similar amount, and cutting sports isn't an option because it would be less than 24 hours before multiple suits are filed claiming discrimination against female athletes.
Even if this wasn't the case the idea that the athletes are going to get a 50% split on revenues or anything close is unworkable and ridiculous.
Most FBS schools are running their athletic programs at a loss. the majority are probably losing money on football.
They make it up in the publicity generated and in non-directly related revenues and donations that are generated by association with the football program. Take away 50% of the revenues and the model simply doesn't work for a huge number of these schools. Turn the players into professionals and non-students and the association with the program and the alumni/donors is further reduced along with the non-direct revenues that come from them.
There are a limited number of schools that could probably make it work but in the end would they want to. Those schools are not going to happily give up millions of dollars either.
The idea of giving up the endorsement and image revenues to the players is again a transfer of significant funds that schools are already allocating and dependent on.
If anything like this revenue sharing were to occur you would immediately see a big reduction in the number of programs playing BCS level football. Virtually all the G5 schools would be gone, probably close to 1/2 of the current P5 schools would forced out.
Likely what you would see is a lot of schools deciding to downscale their programs, go to an FCS or D2 level (which would actually involve a complete restructuring of the divisions) some might even go to doing all sports at a club level.
If the players want a more fair system there are some demands that would make sense and be able to build support for.
Included would be a more reasonable cost of attendance. In addition to tuition, fees, housings, and food the players would get a stipend allowing them to live more like "normal" students going out to eat, see a show, buy some clothing, etc.
Also included would be a guarantee of scholarship through a full four years even if the player can't or doesn't play due to injury or a change in coaching staff or a number of other reasons with the full academic support that comes with being an athlete..
Health insurance for time at the university and at least 4-5 years after completion plus a long term coverage of conditions directly related to their playing days like knee and back injuries as well as potentially CTE related issues.
They could also demand fully paid schooling to bridge the completion of a degree following the completion of their eligibiity. Along with this additional transitional support into the workplace following their athletic careers with counseling and job placement assistance.
