South Carolina Joins College Football’s Revenue-Sharing Era, Keeps Payment Details Under Wraps
COLUMBIA — South Carolina has officially stepped into the new era of college football’s revenue-sharing model. As of July 1, the school began distributing $20.5 million to Gamecock student-athletes.
Exactly how much each athlete and sport receives, however, remains a tightly guarded secret. The University of South Carolina has rejected multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests from The Post and Courier seeking access to those records, citing exemptions under state law.
Media attorney Jay Bender, who represents the S.C. Press Association, explained that the school’s stance is legally defensible.
“The only portion of the record that’s exempt from disclosure is that relating to compensation. To me, it is covered by the law. The rest of it, in my mind, should be made public,” Bender said. “The only thing that would appropriately not be subject to FOIA is the specific compensation.”
The university leaned on a section of state law addressing name, image and likeness (NIL) payments, which allows institutions to withhold copies or summaries of NIL contracts unless the requester is directly involved in the agreement. The same law also protects schools from being compelled to share NIL records with athletic associations or conferences.
USC had already turned down a June 2 request for NIL documents — including sample contracts for NIL and revenue-sharing — citing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Still, officials did leave the door open for some level of transparency.
According to a July 27 email from Associate Vice President for University Communications Jeff Stensland, the school plans to provide at least one example.
“We will provide a redacted version,” Stensland wrote, following consultations with the school’s general counsel.
For now, the amount South Carolina is paying its student-athletes is public knowledge, but the breakdown of who is receiving what will stay out of the spotlight.
