How Much Money The Average College Football Player Is Paid Every Season

College athletes being able to actually earn money off of their own talents has been at the center of ongoing controversy, especially when it comes to college football. In fact, since the founding of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (or NCAA) in 1906 college sports generally operated under amateurism rules. These rules were meant to create a more firm boundary between college and professional sports and the biggest consequence of these rules was that college athletes have historically been asked to forgo their ability to earn money (with the exception of scholarship money for school) in order to play their game of choice.

To make the matter more complicated, while student athletes were being told they couldn't earn income from their likeliness or they would be disqualified from playing, the NCAA itself regularly did just that. The NCAA profited off the name, image, and likeliness of the same student-athletes it prevented from earning money, and critics began to notice. In the modern era of sponsorships, advertising, and even sports betting (in some states, anyway) it became increasingly difficult to convince players to miss out on earnings during their prime athletic years while the NCAA had no problem earning income off of their abilities. With that said, it wasn't until very recently that college athletes have actually been able to earn an income and profit off of their own name. Even with this important progress, how much a college athlete earns can vary considerably depending on their school and even state.

As of July 1, 2021, the NCAA implemented new name, image, and likeness (NIL) rules alongside state law changes. These changes finally allowed student athletes to sign endorsement deals, sell merchandise and memorabilia, and a host of other activities that allows athletes to personally profit off of their own image. Since the ban on a student athlete's ability to earn money from their own image (and remain eligible to play) was through a combination of state and NCAA laws, many states had to similarly agree to allow students to earn income. While federal legislation attempts have been made (and been called for by the NCAA), chances are good that NIL laws will remain at the state level for some time. As of 2025, at least 32 states have passed NIL legislation allowing student athletes to get paid.

This means that, as a student athlete, which state you decide to go to for college could have significant ramifications on your ability to make money. Plus, this patchwork of laws that have been put into place have made it more difficult for student athletes to navigate where, and even what, they can endorse or earn income from. Certain school policies might prohibit alcohol or gambling endorsements while others might even block student athletes from signing endorsements that might conflict with their larger school's sponsorship agreements. Similarly, certain schools might have restrictions on using school logos or any other kind of copyrighted materials within their paid sponsorship opportunities.

Despite the NCAA's 2021 NIL rule changes, they still prohibited individual schools from directly paying their players to play. This means a player's ability to earn money is based on things like how popular their sport is (with college football more likely to pull in sponsorships and potential endorsements than women athletes in any sport), how marketable a company might find them personally, and even the name recognition of the school they play for. All of this can and has led to significant discrepancies when it comes to what college athletes might earn.

However, a recent settlement has promised to change the way things currently operate. In October 2024, a judge gave a preliminary approval to what is known as the House vs. NCAA settlement. The agreement means that NCAA institutions that opt in to the settlement agreement will then be able to compensate their student athletes directly going forward. Estimates have found that the salary cap laid out by the agreement would be around $20-22 million for the 2025-26 school year. This means that each participating school would have access to that money each year in order to distribute to its student athletes. Beyond this future pay, the settlement agreement also lays out the potential for NIL backpay for student athletes who competed anytime between 2016 through mid-September 2024. Athletes that file for this backpay will be eligible for a portion of the agreed-upon $2.576 billion settlement amount. The final approval hearing for this settlement agreement is currently scheduled for April 2025.