It won't just be current and future college athletes benefitting from the passing of the House v. NCAA settlement.
The House v. NCAA settlement was finalized on Friday, making it legal for universities to start directly paying student-athletes starting on July 1. Also part of the agreement was $2.8 billion in back payments for athletes who competed between 2016 and 2024. That means former athletes can also benefit from theoretical money they missed out on from NIL opportunities, but there is a catch.
How much an athlete gets depends on the value of their lost possible NIL opportunities. Meaning, Baker Mayfield will not get paid the same as a former walk-on teammate who never saw the field. Payments could reportedly be between $1 and $1,859,000.
Most of the money will go to football and basketball players. However, that could be different for a school like Oklahoma, where a small-revenue sport like softball is so high on the food chain.
With this news, I created a list of OU athletes from during that time who certainly earned their pay and missed out on countless dollars during their time as a Sooner.
Former Sooners most deserving of back pay
Baker Mayfield
Baker Mayfield could have been the richest man in Norman if he played during the NIL era. He was a Heisman Trophy winner, so obviously his play was worth a hefty paycheck, but NIL is even more than just what a player does on the field.
Mayfield's personality stood out even more than what he did on the field as a fan-favorite. He was one of the most famous athletes in the country during his time at OU. Mayfield would had been an easy sell for anyone and would had been on more commercials than Petyon Manning while he was a Sooner.
Yes, Mayfield got a good payday as a No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick, but that doesn't mean he doesn't deserve all the money that was left on the table during his time at OU.
Trae Young
Hindsight is 20/20, but money spent on Trae Young would had been well-spent and just been funneled back into OU. He was one of the greatest freshmen in college basketball history after his 2017 season. Young and his name can also be thanked for getting the Sooners into the NCAA Tournament that season.
Now that he is getting paid handsomely, Young frequently gives back to the Norman community, has donated $1 million to OU basketball and serves as the Sooners' assistant general manager while still playing in the NBA.
Jocelyn Alo
Jocelyn Alo certainly got her share of NIL deals, but any legend from OU softball deserves everything possible and then some, especially considering there's no lucrative pro career for them no matter how good. Alo is worthy of getting a pretty paycheck after her college career.
Paige Parker
Paige Parker is another softball legend deserving of money she was never able to make just because of the sport she played and when she played it. The Sooners won back-to-back national titles in 2016-17 thanks to Parker, and that was the launching pad for OU transforming into a dynasty.
The Sooners have the most notable softball program in the country that's constantly breaking attendance records, and it's fair to say that might not have ever happened without Parker, who didn't make a dime as a Sooner.
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