College sports recruiting changed fundamentally in 2025. Most families don't know how, and the recruiting services they're paying thousands of dollars to haven't updated their guidance. Here's the plain-English version of what happened and what it means for your family.
What the House v. NCAA settlement did
The $2.28 billion House v. NCAA antitrust settlement, implemented in 2025, made three major changes that directly affect high school athletes and their families.
First, it allowed schools to share revenue directly with athletes — meaning D1 athletes can now receive payments from their school on top of scholarships. These revenue-sharing pools can reach up to roughly $20 million per school per year, distributed across sports. In practical terms, a starting D1 football or basketball player at a major program might receive $15,000–$20,000 per year in revenue sharing on top of their scholarship. This doesn't apply to D2, D3, or NAIA.
Second, it set hard roster caps for every sport. This eliminated thousands of roster spots across all NCAA sports. Those spots didn't disappear — they were filled by transfer portal players with college experience. The result: fewer available roster spots for high school recruits in most sports at the D1 level.
Third, it restructured scholarships in many sports, allowing schools to offer athletic aid to more players in some sports (previously walk-ons can now receive aid) while capping total roster sizes.
What this means by division
For families targeting FBS Power 4 football: the landscape changed the most. With 105 roster caps and revenue sharing, these programs are more selective than ever. The transfer portal competes directly with high school recruits for the same spots. A high school football player realistically targeting Power 4 programs needs to be higher-rated than they would have needed to be three years ago.
For families targeting D1 in other sports: fewer roster spots means coaches need to be more selective. The recruiting window effectively starts earlier because coaches need to commit to recruits before the transfer portal window opens and takes those spots.
For families targeting D2 and D3: the settlement's changes are minimal at these levels. D2 and D3 programs are not subject to the same roster cap pressures and don't participate in revenue sharing. These programs are not competing with the transfer portal at the same rate as D1. For many families, the D2 and D3 paths became relatively more attractive after the settlement because competition for spots is more predictable.
The transfer portal reality nobody tells you
The transfer portal now processes more than 50,000 athletes per year across all sports. College coaches — particularly at D1 programs — check the portal before finalizing recruiting classes because portal players offer immediate impact without the two-year development curve of a high school freshman.
This isn't a reason to panic. It is a reason to be realistic about timing and division targets, and to understand that a strong D2 program where your athlete plays immediately may be a better athletic and financial outcome than a D1 program where they sit behind a portal transfer for two years.
One important update: the executive order
In April 2026, President Trump signed an executive order directing the NCAA to limit college athletes to one transfer before graduation. If this holds up legally — and it will face court challenges — the transfer portal's influence on recruiting will decrease over the next two to three years. This could mean more roster stability and more spots available for high school recruits by 2027–2028. Families with athletes currently in 8th–10th grade may benefit from this shift.
What to do with this information
Understand which division level is actually realistic given the current landscape. A borderline D1 prospect in 2022 may be a strong D2 prospect in 2026 not because they got worse, but because the landscape changed. Getting an honest assessment of where your athlete fits today — not three years ago — is the most important first step.
Get your free honest assessment at Prospecta — updated benchmarks for every sport reflecting the 2025–26 recruiting landscape.