The College Sports Commission is investigating multiple Power Four programs for potential violations of college football's revenue-sharing and NIL rules, CBS Sports has learned. Through public records requests, interviews and sources throughout college football, CBS Sports can report: In a memo sent to university presidents, chancellors, athletic directors and other campus officials on Aug. 20, the CSC stated: "The DOI is actively conducting multiple, longer-term investigations into potential cap evasion and NIL-related violations by institutions, student-athletes, and certain third parties. The CSC encourages anyone with relevant information to contact the DOI.
Input from athletic department staff on recruiting practices, agent conduct, and questionable business proposals helps the CSC apply the rules fairly by bringing potential violations to light." The investigations represent the most significant test yet of the CSC's ability to police college football's revenue-sharing system at a time in which roster costs have rocketed past the around $21.5 million rev share number dictated in the House settlement. In conversations with 20-plus sources across college football, CBS Sports has learned that the CSC has been on campus at schools conducting interviews about active investigations regarding cap-evasion practices. There is no exact timeline on when those might be completed.
Schools are allowed to spend around $21.5 million on their student athletes in the 2026-27 academic calendar year through a revenue sharing model approved in the historic NCAA v. Any money a student-athlete receives from a third-party must clear the CSC approval process, where it's examined to see if the deal meets a fair-market range of compensation. In July, the CSC amended its rules to exempt all deals between $600 and $15,000 from the range of compensation review as long as that athlete has made $50,000 or less in "associated" deals.
If the athlete is above that $50,000 number, the review is back in effect. With seven college football rosters ballooning into $40 and, in a few cases, $50 million range, according to previous CBS Sports reporting, schools are spending well beyond the rev share number, which is meant to serve for all sports. Given $40 million football rosters and $10-million-plus basketball rosters just to be competitive, schools are attempting to generate tens of millions in third-party money for their athletes just to remain competitive.
There is no cap on how much a team can spend as long as the deals are submitted and approved as being in accordance with the fair market range of compensation through the CSC's process. In September, the CSC reported that through its platform NIL GO it had cleared $227.25 million in deals between July 1 and Aug. 31. However, it failed to clear $67.08 million during that period in deals that did not meet fair-market-value standards or the terms of the House Settlement agreement.
Since NIL Go launched, it's cleared $582.5 million and denied $156.9 million in deals. When millions get held up in the NIL Go system, some teams look for ways around the rules to deliver the payments they promised their athletes. Sources have indicated the CSC isn't even holding up all the deals it could.
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