UNC AD explains how a landmark settlement will financially affect athletics
North Carolina will spend $20.5 million in revenue sharing with Tar Heel athletes while also adding almost 200 scholarships in the coming year, athletic director Bubba Cunningham revealed Monday.
In a letter to UNC supporters and fans, Cunningham outlined the framework of how the Heels will comply with the guidelines set by the landmark House vs NCAA settlement that allows athletes to be paid directly for the first time by their respective schools.
Most Division I schools had plans in place leading up to the June 6 ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken that approved the settlement of the five-year-old class-action lawsuit. In addition to revenue sharing, many former athletes also will be paid past damages for the name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities that were lost. The settlement also affects roster limits and allowable scholarship totals for sports teams.
Cunningham, in the letter, said the settlement will cause a “significant evolution” in the athletic department’s financial model.
“We are fully committed to adapting to this new era and continuing to create outstanding championship experiences for our student-athletes across our 28-sport, broad-based program,” Cunningham wrote.
Will athletes still be paid through NILs?
Cunningham said a “majority” of the allowed $20.5 million revenue share this year would go to football and men’s basketball, although not breaking down the percentages. He said the revenue sharing would increase by 4% each year and that the division of the funds would be reviewed and evaluated each year.
Cunningham noted that athletes would continue to receive NIL funds from “third parties” separate from the revenue share. A new national clearinghouse will review and approve any NIL of $600 or more.
Cunningham said the UNC scholarship total would increase from 338 to 532 in the 28 sports. He said the added scholarships would “greatly strengthen” the athletic program while adding that UNC wanted to keep building its Ram Club Scholarship Endowment.
The House settlement calls for about $2.8 billion to be paid to NCAA athletes who competed from 2016 to 2024 and were not allowed to benefit from NIL opportunities. The NCAA will pay that amount by withholding distribution shares to its schools in the next 10 years. Cunningham, in the letter, estimated that it would cost UNC about $2 million a year.
“No doubt, these changes will be expensive,” Cunningham wrote in the letter, saying revenue sharing and the Heels’ ”new investment in football” would increase UNC’s athletic budget to about $180 million from $150 million next year.
Where will money for UNC football come from?
Bill Belichick has taken over the football program, and the six-time Super Bowl winner with the New England Patriots will be paid $10 million a year.
UNC will help raise that money through such new initiatives as naming rights, field sponsorships and jersey patches, Cunningham said. UNC also could get a cut of the state’s gambling revenue -- the N.C. Senate has approved a budget calling for more than $24 million to be given to UNC’s and N.C. State’s athletic departments in 2025-26, it was reported in the Carolina Alumni Review.
Cunningham said Rams Club donors have put more than $25 million in the Excellence Fund and Excellence Endowment, which he said provides unrestricted dollars.
“It remains to be seen how this new economic model will impact the future of intercollegiate athletics,” Cunningham wrote.
This story was originally published June 23, 2025 at 3:28 PM.
