Ohio State would accept pay-to-play NCAA settlement if approved

View a previous report on Ohio State's revenue report from fiscal year 2023 in the video player above.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) --Athletes at Ohio State University could soon be paid for playing if a legal settlement against the NCAA is approved.

A university representative confirmed Thursday that its athletics department plans to participate in revenue sharing with its athletes if the settlement in three antitrust cases against the NCAA is approved.

The settlement, totaling nearly $2.8 billion, needs approval from a federal judge and the plaintiffs in the class-action federal suit.

First reported in late May, the settlement will see the NCAA and the five conferences -- the Big Ten, Big 12, Atlantic Coast Conference, Pac-12, and Southeastern Conference -- pay about 14,000 current and former athletes $2.77 billion over the next 10 years, and could start as soon as the 2025 fall season. The division schools are expected to pay about $300 million per school over the 10-year period.

In addition to the schools in those conferences, dozens of other NCAA schools will see similar distributions from the NCAA, the Associated Press reported.

According to the settlement, schools will be permitted but not required to set aside up to $21 million in revenue per year to share with athletes. Schools would decide how the payments are divided among sports programs.

In fiscal year 2023, OSU generated $279,549,337 in athletic revenue, a record; ticket sales accounted for $73.3 million, with $64.3 million of that coming from football.

There is no timeline as to when the plaintiffs could accept the settlement.