Paying players, private equity, roster limits: What House settlement means for Purdue

Indianapolis Star

a day ago

Purdue athletic director Mike Bobinski has publicly welcomed the revenue sharing era of college sports as a way to even the playing field and stabilize a volatile name, image and likeness market.
When judge Claudia Wilken gave final approval to terms of the House vs. NCAA settlement last week, Bobinski's letter to the Purdue community stressed the competitive upside — and the financial urgency — for the Boilermakers.
The initial $20.5 million which can be shared — and which Bobinski has said Purdue will fully utilize — is not the only added expense. Bobinski said Purdue will increase the number of athletic scholarships awarded in some sports. He asked for expanded support for the John Purdue Club, the primary athletics fundraising organization. He also urged contributions to athletics through the university's "Victories & Heroes: Your Campaign for Purdue" initiative.
"This moment requires all of us — alumni, fans, donor and friends — to step up and be bold," Bobinski wrote. "… Your support is not just appreciated — it is absolutely essential."
Here's what we know about what the settlement term means for Purdue, and how it is moving forward.
Bobinski stated early and often Purdue will participate fully in revenue sharing. That $20.5 million obligation would have equated to 15.2% of the athletic department's income for the 2023-24 fiscal year based on its annual report to the NCAA. (Figures for 2024-25 are not yet available.)
Additionally, the NCAA's agreement to pay $2.6 billion in back pay damages to former athletes come out of its annual distributions to member schools. Purdue expects to receive about $1.2 million per year less from the NCAA for the next decade. It received $4.47 million in 2023-24.
Dating back to the hire of Barry Odom in December, both Bobinski and President Mung Chiang have suggested a change to the university's financial relationship with athletics will help close the budget gap.
Per records compiled by the USA Today Network in partnership with the Knight-Newhouse College Athletics Database, Purdue was one of 11 Division I athletic programs from the more than 230 public schools in the 2023 fiscal year which either received no revenue from its university (eight) or returned any revenue it received (three).
Among the ways the university could help athletics would be to take on debt obligations. Purdue listed $14.5 million in "debt service, leases or rental fees" on its 2023-24 NCAA financial report. Direct overhead and administrative expenses — things like facilities maintenance, security, insurance and utilities — accounted for almost $13 million in expenses.
An announcement on the specific details will come. Whatever the solution, belt-tightening alone won't get an already lean athletic department to its $20.5 million goal.
It remains to be seen how transparent Purdue will be about which sports receive what percentage of the revenue-sharing pool. However, based on reports from around the country, estimates have power conference schools allotting 70% to 75% to football and 15% to 20% to men's basketball. The sports which by far bring in the most money will receive the lion's share.
Not much will change for Purdue's marquee sports. Odom said he expects to operate on the traditional 85-scholarship limit within the new roster limit of 105. Walk-ons can make up that gap.
Men's basketball can use up to 15 scholarships, but don't expect coach Matt Painter to fill up that allotment often, if at all. Keeping 13 players satisfied with their roles in any given year is difficult enough.
Also, teams have the option of grandfathering in current athletes who would otherwise put them over those roster limits. This most likely applies to walk-ons who will be allowed to keep their spot until their career is over.
Bobinski's mention of adding scholarships might impact the non-full scholarship sports, which is everything outside of football, men's and women's basketball and volleyball.
Baseball used to be limited to 11.7 scholarships, distributed at the coach's discretion, on a roster three or four times that numberr. Going forward, teams are not beholden to those scholarship limits. However, they cannot exceed newly established roster limits.
Baseball, for instance, can have up to 34 players on its roster. Purrdue's roster from this past season included 44 names. In most other sports, based on rosters posted on the athletics website, Purdue operated below or near the new limits. It has known this new structure was coming for months.
Within the Big Ten, the impact will likely vary from school to school. In purely speculative example, historic wrestling powers Iowa and Penn State could offer more scholarships in that sport than most schools.
Athletes can still earn income beyond their revenue share cut through those avenues currently associated with NIL: endorsements, brand campaigns, online influencing, etc.
In his letter, Bobinski announced the formation of Boiler BrandWorks. Described as an "in-house student-athlete marketing and brand-building unit," this new arm of the athletic department will help athletes find and develop NIL deals with local and national businesses.
'Not everybody is marketable.' Purdue coach Matt Painter welcomes 'balance' House settlement brings
Per the university's athletics careers website, it is hiring a director of NIL strategy and athlete marketing who will oversee Boiler BrandWorks.
Even with revenue share, programs will need to show they can maximize the earnings potential of their most marketable athletes. (Think Zach Edey, Braden Smith or football quarterbacks.) This new administrator and department are responsible for making that happen.
The 501c3 non-profit collective associated with the athletic department continues to operate. It was involved with the finalization of deal such as those struck by returning and incoming men's basketball players and football's two dozen-plus spring transfer portal additions.
Last winter, though, Bobinski predicted the end of the philanthropic model of NIL fundraising. Schools will no longer need to hook players up with deals attached to charitable organizations or activities.
However, a 501c6 entity known as Boiler Up Inc. also operates in conjunction with Boilermaker Alliance. The main difference between the two types of non-profits is Boiler Up Inc. can raise money through memberships or fundraising without any charitable endeavors.
This setup or something similar is fairly common at power conference athletic programs. In recent months, more collectives have begun sunsetting their 501c3 to focus on their other platform — some of which are for-profit LLCs. IU's Hoosiers For Good announced last December it would cease operations early this year.
Purdue could keep some version of the current collective to facilitate fundraising beyond the John Purdue Club and the new, in-house marketing arm.
College athletic programs across the country have begun to partner with private equity firms, or are exploring the idea. These firms would not take a stake in the athletic program. Rather, they would offer a private source of credit paid back over time.
Finance bump: Indiana, Purdue received roughly $62 million of Big Ten's $928 million in revenue. What it means
Such a relationship could make sense for Purdue if it directly led to a long-term revenue enhancement. For example, taking private credit to fund an important facility or resource enhancement without asking for the money from the university.
However, Purdue prides itself on fiscal responsibility. It typically does not lead the pack in creative ways to spend money it does not have. This could be a realistic opportunity in time, depending on how the market evolves.