The college athletic world ushered in a new era of NIL spending yesterday, as a federal judge issued a ruling in House v. NCAA that will allow colleges to spend $20.5 million on their athletes via a revenue-sharing model.
This news caused a lot of controversy in the college football world, with many fearing that this new ruling will ruin the game that so many fans love. One of the biggest fallouts from the case is the idea that walk-ons, which have been the backbone of college athletics for as long as I can remember, are now a thing of the past.
The Walk-On Era In College Football is Over
College football is full of tradition and amazing stories. One of the best parts of the game is when an athlete who walked on to a college football team is granted a full scholarship. With colleges being able to pay their players now directly, walk-ons will likely be phased out.
As CBS Sports’ analyst John Talty put it, “amateurism is dead.”
Talty wrote an article where he broke down the winners and losers of the ruling, and one of his biggest losers was Amateurism saying “The “student-athlete” moniker has long been a fraud and part of the NCAA’s original sin, but its death becomes official now that universities can pay their athletes directly beginning July 1.”
With the ruling, college football programs have to cap their roster at 105, which will make programs have to cut more than 20 players before the next season starts. This will result in programs likely removing walk-ons first before their scholarship players.
While on the surface it feels like walk-ons will no longer exist, many analysts, including The Athletic’s Chris Vannini, still project that schools will not fill all 105 spots with scholarships and will keep using walk-ons for this season.
With the House settlement, FBS football rosters will drop to a 105-player limit BUT
– All can be on scholarship, no more 85 limit
– Schools are not expected to use all 105 schols and will have walk-ons
– Players who would’ve been cut can be grandfathered in for their careers— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) June 7, 2025
So, for the time being, it would appear that walk-ons will still be a part of college football, but like Talty said, the idea of “student athlete” is long gone as college football players will be treated more like employees than students.
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Unfortunately, that means, as we move further and further into this new era of college football, most programs will eventually no longer use walk-ons.
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