College Sports Commission Tracks $1.8 Billion in Payments to Student-Athletes During First Year of Revenue Sharing
Participating schools reported their revenue-sharing payments through CAPS
TYSONS, October 1, 2026 — The College Sports Commission (CSC) announced today that the College Athlete Payment System (CAPS) recorded $1.8 billion in direct payments from schools to student-athletes during the first year of revenue sharing. Participating schools reported their distributions through CAPS, covering 34,915 student-athletes at 307 schools across 33 conferences and 45 sports.
During the 2025-26 cap year, which ended on June 30, 2026, the CSC provided over 50 training sessions that were available to over 1,000 athletic and compliance staff members to support system implementation.
Each participating school could share up to $20.5 million with its athletes in 2025-26 and decide how to divide that money across its sports and rosters. The total amount of distributions tracked in CAPS was $1,975,973,365, which included $1,770,453,776 in revenue-sharing payments, $42,034,090 in Alston Awards and $163,485,499 in new and incremental scholarship spending. Of the 319 opted-in schools, 307 compensated student-athletes directly and 68 reached the cap or came within five percent of it.
“The implementation of the House Settlement has resulted in $1.8 billion in direct payments from schools to student-athletes across college athletics, on top of billions in scholarship benefits. The College Sports Commission operated the system that facilitated these payments, allowing student-athletes to benefit from the new system while ensuring compliance with the rules,” said Bryan Seeley, CEO of the College Sports Commission.
Revenue-sharing payments come from the school itself. They are different from third-party name, image and likeness (NIL) deals, which student-athletes enter into with noninstitutional entities and which the CSC reviews through its software platform, NIL Go. Together, the two systems provide distinct pathways for student-athletes to earn money and provide greater transparency into how those payments are made.
The 2026-27 cap year began July 1, 2026, and because the revenue-sharing cap increases annually under the settlement, each participating school can now share up to $21.58 million with its student-athletes. The CSC will publish aggregate year-end revenue-sharing data from CAPS after each year. More information is available at collegesportscommission.org/revenue-sharing.
About the College Sports Commission
The College Sports Commission (CSC) is an independent organization established in 2025 to oversee and enforce rules governing student-athlete compensation in college sports, including institutional revenue sharing and third-party name, image and likeness (NIL) agreements. The Commission promotes fairness, integrity, and opportunity by providing transparent oversight and accountability for student-athletes and institutions.
Media Contact
Kenny Thompson, Jr.
press@collegesportscommission.org
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