Georgia's Smart on 'pins and needles' ahead of house settlement
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is among many figures who are anxiously awaiting the final approval hearing in the House v. NCAA settlement case that will change the landscape of collegiate sports.
"Everybody's on pins and needles because we don't know exactly what's going to come out of this," Smart said Tuesday, according to the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Connor Riley.
Judge Claudia Wilken will hear any objections to a possible $2.8-billion settlement that would be paid out to college athletes. If approved, the resolution could lead to revenue sharing and roster limits that would impact football and other sports at the collegiate level.
"I mean, it could be one of the most legendary moments in all of college sports with what's coming up on this ruling and how people are going to try to manipulate a cap when all we're trying to do is make for competitive balance," Smart said. "And it's really unfortunate that I don't know if competitive balance is going to come out of it."
The landmark decision is set to arrive before the second transfer window opens between April 16 and April 26. Smart, a two-time national title winner, said agents have already gotten a jump on marketing clients who could possibly enter the portal later this month.
"There's people reaching out to have a Zoom call and present all the players they represent that are on teams, including our teams," Smart said. "And they want to invite people to the Zoom so they can watch and see who's going in the portal or shopping who's in the portal before the portal. "You want to get on a Zoom and look at all these players? I'm like, well, 'What if some of them are mine?'"
Georgia is preparing for revenue sharing to begin July 1, according to the Athens-Banner Herald's Marc Weiszer. The school is prepared to pay players the maximum amount of $20.5 million with close to $2.5 million allocated for new scholarships. Football players are expected to receive at least $13.5 million and can earn additional income with over-the-cap deals.
Smart believes athletes are poised to suffer in the future based on the ongoing changes to the collegiate model because of NIL and transfer policies.
"Kids are going to struggle the next 10 years," Smart said, per Riley. "When they look back and somebody says, 'I'm going to go back and look at this and say, what happened to the kids that went to two and three and four places?' I will assure you, we will not be happy with where those kids that jumped for greener grass went to."