Breakdown of how Illinois football should use the House settlement cap space in 2025

The college sports landscape has changed, and that means things for the Illinois football program could change with it.

On Friday night, the House settlement was approved, giving college sports a shot in the arm when it comes to revenue sharing to its athletes. The Illini will now be able to give players money, as each school has $20.5 million cap in the 2025-26 season.

Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports reported that most schools are going to go with a model of 75-85% of that revenue to football, 10-15% of that revenue to men's basketball, and 10-15% of the rest of the revenue distributed to other sports.

Let’s hypothetically say Illinois goes by this model as well. I would assume, as I haven’t heard any reporting, that the football program would be on the lower end and give 75% of the revenue to football. That much goes to football because of the roster size.

If that ends up being the case, $15.375 million would be for the Illinois football program. How would that then be divided out?

Theory on how the Illinois football should divvy out the revenue sharing funds

I’ve broken down the revenue sharing into categories. So, quarterback, wide receivers/tight ends, offensive line, defensive line, linebackers, secondary, and special teams. He is how the revenue should be split up.

Quarterbacks – 35% ($5,381,250)

The quarterback position should obviously be the top position group that gets paid. I have the revenue distribution being 35% or $5,381,250 of the $15.375 million.

With this, I would then tier each level on the depth chart. Starter would get the most with the second string getting a slightly lesser number. The third string on would then get an equal amount.

So, I would give Luke Altmyer 70% or $3,766,875 of that money. The primary backup, likely Ethan Hampton, would get something like 15% or $807,187, and then Carson Boyd, Trey Petty and Jershaun Newton would each get $269,062 as third string and deeper backups.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends 15% ($2,306,250)

As we get deeper into rosters, it becomes more difficult, as there are more players. The wide receivers/tight ends would get 15% or $2,306,250 to split up.

It is tougher to break this down because some seasons, Illinois has elite No. 1 and No. 2 wide receivers, but this season we have a lot of good pass catchers, but no one who stands out yet.

I would say starters on the opening day roster get roughly 55% of the wide receiver/tight ends revenue. 35% is then distributed to primary backups, with 10% going to the rest of the depth chart at the positions.

Offensive Line 15% ($2,306,250)

Illinois’ offensive line is important, so that should be one of the highest revenue groups for the football program. I would say 15% or $2,306,250 needs to go to the offensive line.

Certain offensive linemen are more important than others. In the case of Illinois this season, I think JC Davis should get a bigger revenue share, as he is one of the best offensive linemen in the Big Ten, and he protects Altmyer’s blind spot.

Defensive Line 5% ($768,750)

While some defensive line budgets would be higher, I think Illinois should go with a 5% revenue split to the current defensive line or $768,750.

Illinois added some nice pieces to the defensive line, but there aren’t any major home run hitters right now. This number would have obviously been higher if Jer’Zhan Newton were around, but for the 2025 campaign, I think this would be an appropriate number. Illinois’ starters would get something like 50% of the budget, with the other 50% going to the backups.

Linebackers 5% ($768,750)

Much like the defensive line, there aren’t massive names in the linebacker corps. I think 5% or $768,750 would go to this position.

Gabe Jacas is the name that would get the most of the revenue. He is a projected NFL Draft pick, so his value is high. He should probably see a boost over the other starters.

Secondary 20% ($3,075,000)

Illinois’ secondary has some massive talent, and they need to have a large portion of the revenue for the 2025 season. I think that 20% or $3,075,000 needs to go to this group.

When you have stars, they need to be paid. Xavier Scott is a multi-time All-Big Ten player, and he is someone who is anchoring the secondary. I think he would get the most out of the entire secondary.

The starters for the Illini defensive backfield should get something like 65% of the revenue, so $1,998,750 with a slight bump up for elite players like Scott. They second string would then get 25% of the revenue with the third string and deeper getting a split of 10%.

Special Teams 5% ($768,750)

Specialists are important to any team, and the Illinois kickers, punters, and specialists should get 5% or %768,750 of the revenue.