COLUMBUS, Ohio — The House settlement, which went into effect Tuesday, is aimed at bringing stability to a world of college athletics known for chaos.
As Ohio State athletics director Ross Bjork has repeatedly said, clarity has been delivered. Rules are implemented in areas that seemed lawless during the short name, image and likeness era prior to the settlement approval.
One aspect of the approval has come with scrutiny, though, and it’s been a talking point across social media and message boards during a busy time in the college football recruiting cycle.
Third-party NIL and how it will be policed during this new era remains hazy. Ohio State, as Bjork noted during an 80-minute press conference last month, is prepared to follow the rules outlined in the House settlement.
The cap for what schools can pay directly to athletes is clear: each athletic department can share up to $20.5 million in revenue, with free reign to divide the money as it pleases. As it pertains to third-party NIL, rules are defined but questions linger.
While Bjork’s stance on following the rules is clear, Michigan has had impressive success on the recruiting trail. The two events happening almost simultaneously has caused a stir among the OSU faithful. Ohio State, which still owns the fifth-ranked 2026 recruiting class, landed just two top-250 players in June. Michigan landed seven such players in the month.
“There’s a lot of studies on this,” Bjork said. “NBA basketball… they load up on three players and the rest are way below average. How do programs do that? Do they load up on 10 players at key positions? All of this is going to really, really be a thoughtful process.” Ohio State has turned to analytics to determine positional value.
“Ohio State football is a built-to-last championship brand,” Bjork said. “That’s not going away.”