Dan Wetzel predicts 'return to old Wild Wild West' after House vs. NCAA settlement

The long-awaited approval of the landmark House v. NCAA settlement became official late Friday night, formally ending college athletics’ long-standing “amateurism” model and giving way to revenue-sharing that allows Division I schools to provide direct financial payments to student-athletes beginning July 1.

And while many among the defendant/Power conferences are celebrating the moment as historic, there are still plenty who question how college athletics’ new world order will actually be implemented in a way that resolves the ungovernable issues that have plagued it long before the day and age of NIL (name, image and likeness) and the NCAA Transfer Portal.

During a Wednesday afternoon appearance on The Paul Finebaum Show, ESPN insider Dan Wetzel raised serious doubt whether the newly-created College Sports Commission and NIL Go clearinghouse can effectively enforce the House settlement’s rules around revenue-sharing, third-party NIL deals and roster limits. Wetzel isn’t even confident the House ruling will survive a number of legal challenges that are already popping up after Wednesday’s Title IX appeal.

“Mostly I feel like it’s an attempted stop-gap toward wherever we’re headed. I don’t know that it will survive legal challenges. I still don’t see how this possibly works until they deem college athletes – or at least football and basketball players – as employees,” Wetzel told the SEC Network’s Paul Finebaum. “The inherent problem with college athletics – if you call it a problem – through the years was the worth or value assigned to a star player is not commiserate with what someone is going to pay. … And the value to a player that can win (a team) championships was far above room and board, and that … led to coaches, administrators, boosters, fans, sneaker companies, everybody just circumventing the NCAA rules and creating this whole underground economy.

ESPN’s Dan Wetzel: ‘I think we’re headed for a level of chaos’ in college sports following House settlement

“I don’t know how that doesn’t come back now that they’re saying we’re capping this at $20.5 million and this is all the money you have to spend on your team. And how does that mesh with the ethos of college athletics?” Wetzel continued. “Is there really going to be a coach that says ‘I guess we just can’t get that recruit because we don’t have the money?’ History says that isn’t the case. I think we’re headed for a level of chaos, a different Wild Wild West or a return to the old Wild Wild West with this system. It’s certainly an interesting day, but I don’t know what changed.”

Beginning July 1, Power conference schools — and non-Power conference programs that opt into the settlement by June 30 — will be able to share as much as $20.5 million with athletes, with football expected to receive approximately 75%, followed by men’s basketball (15%), women’s basketball (5%) and the remainder of sports (5%). The amount shared in revenue will increase annually.

Power conference football programs are expected to have an additional $13-16 million to spend on rosters beginning with the 2025 season, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. Many schools have front-loaded contracts ahead of the settlement’s approval, allowing them to skirt the new rules and take advantage of contracts not vetted by Deloitte clearinghouse NIL Go before June 7.

— On3’s Pete Nakos contributed to this report.