The NCAA House settlement has quickly turned into the biggest talking point in all of college athletics after the news of the settlement dropped Friday night. Many aspects of college sports will change because of this settlement from revenue sharing to current athletes and more difficulties in attaining NIL deals.
But a third aspect of this settlement that is extremely exciting is that the NCAA will be required to back pay $2.8 billion to athletes from 2016 to 2024 from lost NIL compensation.
The House settlement will distribute $2.8 billion in backpay to thousands of former athletes who competed between 2016 and 2024, covering lost NIL compensation. pic.twitter.com/8KFHq0jHmZ
— OutOfSightSports🚀™️ (@OOSSports) June 7, 2025
It’s unclear exactly how the payout structure will work, but one thing everyone should agree on is that Georgia football players deserve a large chunk of this money.
But who deserves the most? Here are three Bulldogs who have a great argument for receiving a good portion of this payout.
1. TE Brock Bowers
Tight end Brock Bowers might just be the easiest choice out of every Georgia football player since 2016 simply because of how talented he was. Throughout his three year career, Bowers totaled 175 receptions, 2,538 yards and 26 touchdowns.
On top of that, Bowers was arguably one of the biggest reasons why Georgia won two national titles and an SEC championship during his career.
So if anyone deserves a big paycheck from the NCAA, it’s Bowers.
2. RB Nick Chubb
Running back Nick Chubb is another player that every Georgia fan will agree deserves a big payout from the NCAA as well.
Chubb deserves a big payday firstly because of how elite he was at Georgia. During his four year career, Chubb racked up nearly 5,000 rushing yards with 44 touchdowns on the ground. This includes an astounding 14 touchdowns as a freshman and 15 during his senior season.
But potentially the biggest reason why Chubb deserves a lot of money from this settlement is because of how beloved Chubb was during his career. Chubb represented what it means to be a Bulldog to perfection, and that earned him a lot of love and attention from Georgia fans.
So from a marketability standpoint, Chubb deserves a lot of money from the NCAA.
3. LB Roquan Smith
There are countless players from Georgia’s elite defenses that deserve a big payday as well, but linebacker Roquan Smith is someone that should be near the top of that list.
Smith had a quick three year career at Georgia that ended in him being the 8th overall pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. During his three seasons, Smith recorded 252 total tackles, 21 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. But it was his final season in 2017 that shows why he deserves a big payday because he was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year after totaling 137 tackles and all 6.5 sacks in his career.
It will be interesting to see how much money each player from Georgia ends up receiving, but considering UGA is one of the biggest brands in all of college football it should be expected that multiple Bulldogs will make a lot of money.