College sports programs distributed $1.8 billion directly to athletes during the first year of the new revenue-sharing system, according to data from the College Sports Commission (CSC).
A total of 34,915 student-athletes at 307 schools across 33 conferences and 45 sports received revenue-sharing payments during the 2025-26 academic year. The participating institutions were permitted to distribute up to $20.5 million per school, with each institution determining how much it would pay and which athletes would receive funding.
In total, $1.976 billion in payments was entered into the CSC’s College Athlete Payment System (CAPS). The figure included $1.77 billion in direct revenue-sharing payments, $42 million in Alston Awards and $163.5 million in new or incremental scholarship spending.
Of the 319 schools that opted into the revenue-sharing system, 307 ultimately made direct payments to athletes.
The distribution of funds varied significantly across institutions. Sixty-three schools reached the $20.5 million cap, while five came within 5% of it. At the other end of the spectrum, 10 schools reported no revenue-sharing payments, although they made Alston payments or increased scholarship spending.
Fourteen schools spent less than $100,000 on revenue sharing, with the lowest reported amount at $15,000.
The data comes after the House settlement fundamentally changed the economics of college athletics by allowing schools to share revenue directly with athletes. The College Sports Commission was established in 2025 to oversee compensation rules stemming from the settlement, including revenue sharing and name, image and likeness (NIL) activity.
“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,” said Bryan Seeley, CEO of the College Sports Commission.
The new system also operates alongside NIL Go, a separate platform through which Division I athletes report third-party NIL agreements. Athletes are required to disclose NIL deals worth more than $600, including multiple agreements with the same party that exceed that threshold in aggregate.
NIL activity has also expanded rapidly. Data released in September showed that 46,478 deals worth $582.49 million had been cleared since the platform launched in June 2025. July and August 2026 alone accounted for 12,283 approved deals worth $227.25 million.
The revenue-sharing cap has also increased for the current academic year. Schools can distribute up to $21.58 million in 2026-27, while proposed legislation could significantly increase the amount in future years if enacted.
The latest figures underline the scale of the financial shift taking place across U.S. college sports, as direct athlete compensation becomes an increasingly important part of the business model.