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Oklahoma football: New ruling allows schools to pay athletes for good grades

By Connor Pasby

Dec 29, 2018; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; A general view of of Hard Rock Stadium during the national anthem prior to the 2018 Orange Bowl college football playoff semifinal game against the Oklahoma Sooners and the Alabama Crimson Tide. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 29, 2018; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; A general view of of Hard Rock Stadium during the national anthem prior to the 2018 Orange Bowl college football playoff semifinal game against the Oklahoma Sooners and the Alabama Crimson Tide. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oklahoma football players not only can earn monetary benefits as a result of stellar performance on the gridiron but soon also for how they perform in the classroom.

Less than 17 percent of the FBS schools have agreed to maximize cash rewards to their student- athletes based on their academic accomplishments.

In August 2020, the NCAA introduced a ruling that would allow schools to pay their own players for good grades. It was confirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in June of 2021, and 22 of the 130 FBS schools agreed on it, Oklahoma is one of them.

The list of schools that agreed to participate in this action: Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma St, Iowa State, Arkansas, Auburn, Clemson, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Miami, Missouri, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The payment would be up to a $5,980 bonus per year, which will start in the 2022-23 academic year. The payment amount was calculated with the financial amount that the student-athlete can receive in one year, whether that’s postseason rewards or any other form of compensation that the student athlete receives at the end of the season.

Here’s what attorney Jeffery Kessler said about the athletes getting paid:

"“The competitive market will emerge, and we fully expect everyone will have these in the near future,” Kessler said. “If not for COVID, I think it would have happened more quickly. … With the combination of the educational aid and NIL, it’s hard to not see that the welfare of athletes today is significantly advanced to where it was prior to the Alston decision.”"

Despite only 22 FBS schools agreeing to participate in the ruling, there’s still schools that are still taking it into consideration. Thirty-four schools said they haven’t come to an agreement of the plan, but 20 schools said they will apply the bonuses in the future.

According to ESPN, the academic bonuses will reach a sky-high total of $6 million for the richest programs.

As expected, the academic bonuses are only to Power 5 conferences right now, due to the amount of money and revenue they bring into college athletics. Some schools will need to manage their budget and income, so they can pay their athletes at the end of the year.

For example, Michigan gave head coach Jim Harbaugh a $3 million raise, after making the College Football Playoff. Now they may have to to reduce the bonus, or pay him at a later time.

We’ve seen NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) make an imprint on college athletes, and college athletics in general. Now student-athletes they will be eligible for bonuses for the excellence they put into the classroom.

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