College football is one step closer to revenue-sharing.

A California district judge has granted preliminary approval for the settlement in the House-NCAA antitrust case.

Judge Claudia Wilken, of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California, issued the ruling Monday after the two sides clarified some of the language in the settlement ten days ago.

The order also established a schedule for the remaining steps before the deal can be finalized. Athletes impacted by the settlement have until January 31 to file any objections or opt-out. A final hearing set to approve the deal is scheduled for April 7.

The settlement requires schools to pay roughly $2.8 billion to former athletes in damages due to lost NIL earnings. It also allows schools to start sharing generated revenue with players, which is expected to start on July 1 of next year.

The NCAA and conferences have agreed to amend their rules to permit schools to share up to about $21.5 million in athletic revenues with their athletes for the 2025-’26 academic year, with the cap increasing over the next 10 years due to escalators and scheduled recalculations.

While there are still more steps that need to be taken, this is a huge hurdle crossed as college athletics get set to embark on a new landscape. No schools will be required to share revenue, but as The Clemson Insider previously reported, Clemson is one of many schools that will participate. The school plans to distribute the full amount allowed, with the monies coming out of the athletic budget.

It is something that head coach Dabo Swinney believes will help the Tigers tremendously as the program looks to remain competitive at the highest level.

“We’re going to be in a great spot when the rev-share starts,” Swinney said recently. “I think that’s going to be the best case for us. We have the money here, but right now, you can’t share the money that you have. You have to go and raise it. That’s a challenge. It just is. And the rev share really won’t start until July 1.”

“I think it’s going to be a much better situation when the rev-share gets here. I think that’s going to be a great thing for sure because we’ll be able to compete with anybody out there.”

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