New Mexico State University has announced that it will pay athletes directly to keep NMSU competitive in sports.
This decision comes after a class action lawsuit victory for student athletes against the NCAA. The lawsuit argued that players should be paid for their name, image, and likeness for appearing on broadcasts that the universities make money off of.
The parties settled and the NCAA agreed to pay current and former players a total of $2.75 billion as well as introduce a revenue-sharing system that allows the universities to pay players directly.
All universities in Power 4 conferences are required to opt-in to this new system. While NMSU does not fit that criteria since they are in the Conference USA, they are still participating in revenue sharing to help stay competitive and attract talent.
Schools are allowed to spend a maximum of $20.5 million on all student athletes a year. This means that schools will have to decide how to split the money between all of the different sports.
NMSU did not respond to a request for comment.
Athletes can start getting paid on July 1st.
