Four months out from the start of the 2025 season, we still don’t know exactly how college football rosters are going to be shaped – or compensated – this upcoming season.
It’s been believed for some time now that the pending NCAA-House settlement would go into effect July 1 and bring college athletics into the revenue-sharing era with schools permitted to distribute as much as $20.5 million each year to its athletes and increase the size of scholarship rosters.
However, just two months out from that date, nothing as of yet remains in stone. Judge Claudia Wilken hasn’t yet made a ruling and the two sides haven’t yet reached a settlement. So nothing is set in stone, leaving things a bit up in the air as final roster-building tweaks are underway at FSU and across the country in the post-spring transfer portal window.
The expectation has long been that the roster size in college football would simultaneously increase and decrease in size to 105 players. It’s a larger scholarship roster, up from 85 if teams choose to put more players on scholarship. But it’s a smaller roster overall, forcing teams to be pickier about which walk-on players it wants to retain in this new era.
In a hearing on April 21, Wilken expressed concern about how this overall roster restriction could force players currently on rosters to be removed, something that has already been occurring either voluntarily or by force across the country. As such, she suggested the two sides agree on a grandfathering-in clause which would allow any such players to be able to stay with the team and for teams to exceed the 105-player limit until these players run out of eligibility.
While Wilken has since said she would sign off on the settlement if this clause is agreed upon, the two sides haven’t yet agreed to add such a clause.
And so, the settlement is still not finalized, leaving things up in the air.
“The house settlements, there are so many dynamics that are still up in the air with potential rosters, grandfathering,” FSU head coach Mike Norvell said Thursday. “What's that gonna look like?”
FSU’s online roster, which has removed players who have entered the transfer portal after spring camp, currently sits at 90 total players. It doesn’t include the four current transfer commits, nor the eight high-school signees set to join the team this summer.
That brings the roster to 102 players at the moment.
If this settlement indeed goes into effect before July and the 2025 season, that would leave FSU with three roster spots left. However, the grandfather clause could potentially give FSU more roster spots for any eligible players.
FSU went into the offseason building its roster around the expected 105-player limit. That remains the case for the Seminoles as they evaluate additional players that could join the program this summer through the transfer portal.
“We went into it with the approach of the 105, but understanding that there's going to be some flexibility. There are some areas where we could be fluid in just our roster count right now, and what we're looking at,” Norvell said. “I think there's a couple of situations that could be great for added competition, added impact players at a position. We're definitely going to look at that. I think that from what we saw this spring, there's a lot of excitement around our program, about the guys that we have on this team. But as you go through a season, you want to put everybody in the best position to achieve. That’s depth, competition, playmaking ability, making sure you're finding the right guys that can bring that edge and desire to go be the best that this football team can be. That's one of the things that we'll always evaluate. Not to get into any real specific position, but we're evaluating all things.”
It’s been believed for some time now that the pending NCAA-House settlement would go into effect July 1 and bring college athletics into the revenue-sharing era with schools permitted to distribute as much as $20.5 million each year to its athletes and increase the size of scholarship rosters.
However, just two months out from that date, nothing as of yet remains in stone. Judge Claudia Wilken hasn’t yet made a ruling and the two sides haven’t yet reached a settlement. So nothing is set in stone, leaving things a bit up in the air as final roster-building tweaks are underway at FSU and across the country in the post-spring transfer portal window.
The expectation has long been that the roster size in college football would simultaneously increase and decrease in size to 105 players. It’s a larger scholarship roster, up from 85 if teams choose to put more players on scholarship. But it’s a smaller roster overall, forcing teams to be pickier about which walk-on players it wants to retain in this new era.
In a hearing on April 21, Wilken expressed concern about how this overall roster restriction could force players currently on rosters to be removed, something that has already been occurring either voluntarily or by force across the country. As such, she suggested the two sides agree on a grandfathering-in clause which would allow any such players to be able to stay with the team and for teams to exceed the 105-player limit until these players run out of eligibility.
While Wilken has since said she would sign off on the settlement if this clause is agreed upon, the two sides haven’t yet agreed to add such a clause.
And so, the settlement is still not finalized, leaving things up in the air.
“The house settlements, there are so many dynamics that are still up in the air with potential rosters, grandfathering,” FSU head coach Mike Norvell said Thursday. “What's that gonna look like?”
FSU’s online roster, which has removed players who have entered the transfer portal after spring camp, currently sits at 90 total players. It doesn’t include the four current transfer commits, nor the eight high-school signees set to join the team this summer.
That brings the roster to 102 players at the moment.
If this settlement indeed goes into effect before July and the 2025 season, that would leave FSU with three roster spots left. However, the grandfather clause could potentially give FSU more roster spots for any eligible players.
FSU went into the offseason building its roster around the expected 105-player limit. That remains the case for the Seminoles as they evaluate additional players that could join the program this summer through the transfer portal.
“We went into it with the approach of the 105, but understanding that there's going to be some flexibility. There are some areas where we could be fluid in just our roster count right now, and what we're looking at,” Norvell said. “I think there's a couple of situations that could be great for added competition, added impact players at a position. We're definitely going to look at that. I think that from what we saw this spring, there's a lot of excitement around our program, about the guys that we have on this team. But as you go through a season, you want to put everybody in the best position to achieve. That’s depth, competition, playmaking ability, making sure you're finding the right guys that can bring that edge and desire to go be the best that this football team can be. That's one of the things that we'll always evaluate. Not to get into any real specific position, but we're evaluating all things.”
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