(The Center Square) – Tennessee Volunteers fans will pay more to see their favorite teams in 2025, a move Athletic Director Danny White says is due to a potential settlement by the NCAA over colleges using student-athletes images and likenesses.
The NCAA announced a settlement in July that would allow colleges and universities to pay student-athletes for use of their image beginning with the 2025-26 school year. The settlement would allow the top five athletic conferences to pay student-athletes up to 22% of athletic media, ticket and sponsorship revenue. Student-athletes could receive $1.5 billion to $2 billion a year once the settlement is in effect, according to the NCAA.
White said in a YouTube video that a 10% “talent fee” would be added to ticket prices. The announcement come with the football team 3-0 and in national Top 10s.
“We want to be a leader in colleges sports,” White said. “That means we want to be a leader in revenue-sharing. We want to have the very best experience for our athletes right here on Rocky Top, representing the best fanbase in the country, the best university in the country and the great state of Tennessee.”
Tennessee has won the coveted Southeastern Conference All-Sports Trophy for the past three years, according to White.
“At a time when our competitors across the country are talking about downsizing their stadiums because they can’t fill it, y’all have sold out 102,000-seat Neyland Stadium,” White said.
The NCAA said in July that it would be months before the agreement is finalized.
Tennessee’s southern neighbor is not waiting until the settlement is resolved. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp issued an executive order Tuesday that would ban the NCAA from punishing the state’s colleges and universities that pay students for their likeness. The only caveat is that the school cannot use state money to make the payments.
“Until the settlement is approved and effective, legislative and executive actions across the country create a patchwork of inconsistent rules regulating intercollegiate athletics,” Kemp said in the order. “Student-athletes in the state of Georgia should compete on a level playing field and not forgo compensation available for student-athletes in other states while the settlement is pending.”
Virginia lawmakers addressed the issue with a bill signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin that allows their colleges and universities to pay athletes.
