Michigan NCAA: Fines won't impact U-M's ability to compensate athletes

The NCAA handed down its official ruling Friday from the Committee on Infractions hearing into the Michigan football case stemming from alleged off-campus scouting. Among the harshest penalties is a hefty fine for the university.

The fine isn’t a set amount but is anticipated to be over $20 million. From the NCAA:
• $50,000 fine, plus 10% of the budget for the football program. 
• A fine equivalent to the anticipated loss of all postseason competition revenue sharing associated with the 2025 and 2026 football seasons. 
• A fine equivalent to the cost of 10% of the scholarships awarded in Michigan’s football program for the 2025-26 academic year.

The fine Michigan received will amount to a large chunk of change, but it’s important to make the distinction that it won’t impact the $20.5 million the Wolverines and other athletic departments that opted into the revenue sharing portion of the House v. NCAA settlement can pay athletes.

“There’s a little bit of a misconception — I’ve kinda written it, but it’s just been buried, and all of this stuff is so complicated with the House settlement,” Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger said on the ‘College Football Enquirer’ podcast. “From what I understand, you cannot have, as a penalty, a reduction in a school’s rev share, because it is tied to the settlement. It is part of the settlement, and legally every school has to have the ability to get to this amount of rev share pool.

“So, you can not reduce a school’s rev share. But here’s what could happen, from what I understand: School A, in year one of the rev share, overspends somehow, accidentally or on purpose, by $3 million, then in year two they have to take that $3.5 off in year two. So, it’s not a penalty, but in the two-year span, they have to still spend a combined normal two-year amount.

“But you can’t have an actual penalty reduce the rev share pool, is what I understand. 

“I know they’re going to get around that by doing some other penalties, but I would make that clear, because that hasn’t come across accurately, probably.”

While Michigan will be able to pay its full revenue-sharing allotment to student-athletes — the bulk of which will go to football — athletic departments across the country are exploring adding new revenue streams, and cutting spending, to make room in the budget for paying athletes directly.

Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel has said U-M remains committed to all 29 varsity teams on campus, even though the department will be supporting athletic scholarships at an annual total cost of nearly $40 million.

U-M has discussed advertising at Michigan Stadium — the largest college football venue in the sport — to increase revenue. The athletic department has a long-term goal of a 10-percent reduction in total staff and committed to more than $10 million in budget cuts for the 2025-26 fiscal year.

Still, Michigan has the resources to pay the NCAA’s fine, and it shouldn’t have an impact on the football’s team’s competitiveness on the field. The Wolverines are ranked No. 14 nationally in both major polls entering the 2025 season.

“No penalty that can come from the committee can reduce rev share,” Steven Godfrey of Yahoo Sports and the Washington Post said. “Rev share is now the single most important part of acquiring personnel. Scholarships, official visits … great. They won’t even feel them — any school, not just Michigan.

“The punishment is a fine that the larger Michigan apparatus is paying. It does not reduce your ability to compensate athletes.”