The NCAA deciding to finally pay its players is just the beginning of monumental change in college sports

This is just the tip of the iceberg, folks.

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win! Thank you so much for rocking with us this week. We appreciate you.

A new era in college sports is officially here. After years of outcries for the NCAA to give the players a slice of the multi-billion dollar pie, it’s finally happening.

The NCAA’s power conferences have officially agreed to move forward with a multibillion-dollar settlement for three federal antitrust cases, according to reporting from ESPN: House v. NCAA, Hubbard v. NCAA and Carter v. NCAA.

This is a continuation of Tuesday when the Big 12 and ACC officially voted to settle the case. Later in the week, the Big Ten, SEC and Pac-12 agreed to the same terms. Now, we’re here.

There are two big outcomes that we should be focused on:

  • First, the NCAA has agreed to pay nearly $2.8 billion in damages to student-athletes who lost out on NIL deals from 2016 onward. That cash will be paid out over the next 10 years.
  • It also establishes a revenue-sharing plan allowing each school to share $20 million annually with its athletes.

The specific terms need to be mapped out, per ESPN’s reporting, which will be a months-long process. All of this isn’t expected to start before the fall of 2025.

That said, there’s still plenty left to litigate. The NCAA is still resisting the idea that athletes are considered employees. There’s also the matter of figuring out how these student-athletes will be paid and how the NIL marketplace will function.

While rules surrounding it are still being established, the players can finally be paid for the fruit of their labor. That’s the most important part of all of this and it’s great for the athletes.

Some of you are surely worried about your college sports becoming too business-centric. You’re worried that it’ll only become about cold, hard cash and you’ll lose the fuzzy feelings that you get when you watch your alma mater go up against its rival.

But, honestly, I’d argue that the ship sailed a long time ago. The schools forced us here with conference realignment and multi-billion dollar TV deals that changed the college sports landscape. Those moves opened Pandora’s Box. We can’t close it now.

Besides, all the warm fuzzies you love won’t leave you. The games will still be awesome. Your favorite rivalries will still be scheduled because that’s what sells the best, and if we’ve learned anything by now, cash rules everything for this organization. They won’t pass those rivalries up. And the athletes are still students — even if they are eventually considered employees, too. That’s not changing.

Don’t sweat it. College sports won’t be the same, but change isn’t a bad thing here. You’ll still love it anyway.

READ MORE: Five takeaways from the NCAA’s settlement from Cory Woodroof

Double OT for the win with the Oilers

(Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

East Coast hockey fans, I’m so sorry you had to go through what you had to go through last night. But it was worth it, wasn’t it?!?

On Thursday, we were treated to an absolute classic game between the Oilers and the Stars. This game was chaotic from the jump — Edmonton blew a 2 goal lead and looked absolutely cooked by the end of regulation. Connor McDavid nearly lost the Oilers the game with a four-minute penalty at the top of the first OT period.

Edmonton killed the penalty, somehow. And then, after nearly completely ruining the game, McDavid saved the day (and some sleep for us East Coasters) with a goal off of a redirect 32 seconds into the second overtime.

It was a bit anti-climactic, sure, but I’ll take it.

Wild penalty aside, McDavid is on a pretty impressive run this postseason. He recorded his 20th assist of the playoffs with this one, the second time he’s done that in his career. It’s also the second time he’s done it in 13 games or fewer, per NHL PR.

Here’s the list of players who’ve accomplished that:

  • Connor McDavid
  • Wayne Gretzky.

That’s it. Pretty great company to keep, if you ask me.

Oklahoma Softball is back at it again

It’s about that time of year again, folks. The NCAA’s Softball Championship tournament is here and Oklahoma is doing Oklahoma things once again.

Patty Gasso’s Sooners aren’t 61-1 again this year. Technically, this team isn’t even the No. 1 team in the nation — Texas is. But the Sooners looked as dominant in Game 1 against Florida State.

This series feels like a big deal. It’s a rematch between Oklahoma and FSU after last year’s Women’s College World Series where the Sooners were completely unstoppable. Oklahoma didn’t lose a game all playoffs.

That’s probably not happening again, but Gasso’s team looked great on Thursday. Oklahoma hit four home runs on its way to an 11-3 win to take the first game in the Super Regionals series.

Game 2 is on Friday night at 8 p.m. should be a fun one. Tap in and watch some greatness.

READ MORE: Here’s the DI Softball Championship full bracket

Photo Friday: Lunch at F1

MONTE-CARLO, MONACO – MAY 24: Yuki Tsunoda of Japan driving the (22) Visa Cash App RB VCARB 01 on track during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Monaco at Circuit de Monaco on May 24, 2024 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Japan’s Yuki Tsunoda is flying by on a practice run at Circuit de Monaco while it looks like some fans are grabbing lunch. Imagine being this close to the action while eating a crispy baguette. That’s got to be awesome.

Quick hits: Angel Reese claps back … Scottie Scheffler’s arrest video surfaces … and more

— Angel Reese is clapping back at LeBron and everyone else giving Caitlin Clark all the credit for the WNBA’s rise. Meg Hall has more.

— The video of Scottie Scheffler’s arrest contradicts the initial police report. Something is off here.

— A’ja Wilson is taking the high road when it comes to any pettiness toward Caitlin Clark. Cory Woodroof has more.

— This is an incredible Ronald Acuña troll from Wrigley field. Andrew Joseph has more.

— We’re all trying to figure out who set up Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift. Caroline Darney has more.

— What a perfect Wheel of Fortune moment. I love this so much. Here’s Cory again with more.

That’s all, folks! Thanks so much for reading. We appreciate you. TMW will be back on Tuesday after the holiday. Have a great weekend. Peace.

-Sykes ✌️