College athletes to get paid thanks to former ASU swimmer Grant House
PHOENIX - Universities will now be paying college athletes, and you may not know this, but it’s all thanks to a former Arizona State swimmer.
What they're saying:
Former ASU star wide receiver and Houston Texans draft pick, Jaelen Strong, applauds the settlement.
He says the House v. NCAA settlement is great news for athletes, as well as the high school students he coaches at AZ Compass Prep.
He says there's an excitement among the kids he coaches.
"Definitely, 2, 3 years, these kids could be making millions of dollars," Strong said.
The settlement allows for billions in back damages to athletes, and means universities can now start paying athletes up to $20 million a year.
Big picture view:
This is a massive shift in the national college athletic landscape, all brought on by Grant House, a former Arizona State University swimmer.
"I was pretty speechless and really excited for the future of college sports to finally have a path we can all productively and successfully move down together," House said.
When asked about the legacy of starting a class action lawsuit for 400,000 student athletes, he said, "In my role, I just wanted to step forward to have courage for college athletes. It’s not all just about NIL. It’s about rewriting the DNA of college sports so athletes have ownership of their story, can take ownership of whatever their namesake is, support for their futures," House said.
Strong won’t see any money because of this settlement. He left ASU in 2014, but said he knows what it will mean for everyone who will benefit from this.
"I know what it’s like to go play and have to go to McDonald’s for dinner after you’ve had a 200-yard game, and you never had your first steak at Mastro's until going into the draft, stuff like that," Strong said.
House wants to take this moment, and grow it, creating a platform called House of Impact.
"I want to create this resource now that we have an answer to move forward that can help these athletes understand, be more educated and give them more solutions, more tools," he said.
House isn’t done, either. He’s training to try to make the Olympic team in 2028.