In the 2025-26 academic year, college athletes received a historic $1.8 billion in revenue sharing payments from 307 schools, as reported by the College Sports Commission (CSC). These funds were distributed among 34,915 student-athletes across 33 conferences and 45 sports, marking the first year of this new compensation system established under the 2025 House settlement. Each participating institution had the discretion to pay athletes up to a cap of $20.5 million, though payments varied widely—with some schools distributing as little as $3,000 and 63 schools reaching the full cap.

The College Athlete Payment System (CAPS), managed by the CSC, recorded nearly $2 billion in total payments, which included $1.77 billion in revenue sharing, over $42 million in Alston Awards, and more than $163 million in new scholarship spending. Not all institutions fully embraced revenue sharing, as 10 schools made no direct payments to athletes, though they still contributed through scholarships or Alston Awards. The data also showed that 31 schools allocated at least $2.5 million to scholarships, the maximum amount counted against their revenue sharing cap, while 122 schools did not make any Alston payments.

Created in 2025, the CSC oversees compliance with the House settlement’s athlete compensation rules, handling both revenue sharing and NIL (name, image, and likeness) reportings. Under NIL Go, a companion platform, Division I athletes must disclose NIL deals exceeding $600. As of September 2026, nearly 46,500 NIL deals worth $582 million had been approved, highlighting the rapid growth of athlete endorsements. The CSC has indicated that smaller deals under $15,000 will undergo less rigorous scrutiny until athletes accumulate $50,000 in associated deals during an academic year.

Looking forward, the revenue sharing cap will rise to $21.58 million for the 2026-27 year, with the potential to increase substantially if the Protect College Sports Act advances as expected. While institutional payments and NIL deal volumes are likely to grow, an updated CAPS revenue sharing report will only be released annually, with the next update due in late 2027. This evolving system represents a major shift in college athletics, channeling billions directly to student-athletes while upholding regulatory oversight to ensure fairness and transparency.