UW football wrapping up spring practices with House settlement still looming

SEATTLE – Assembling a college football roster in 2025 already poses a massive challenge. The transfer portal and NIL compensation have already radically shifted the ways coaches consider a team’s long- and short-term future.

Building a team is even more difficult when the rules remain uncertain.

“We’re still waiting for true clarity,” coach Jedd Fisch said. “We don’t want to pretend like it’s still not happening now.”

Washington completed its 14th spring practice on the east practice field behind Husky Stadium on Wednesday, the team’s final tune-up before the Huskies host their spring game Friday. But while his team prepares to complete spring practices, Fisch – and the rest of the college football world – is waiting for a decision to solidify the future of college athletics.

The hearing for House settlement’s final approval started in Oakland, California, on April 7, a week after the Huskies began their spring practices. The proposed agreement will pave the way for student-athletes to earn revenue-sharing compensation directly from their universities. A different aspect of the agreement prevented the U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken from giving her final approval. The House settlement is also set to implement roster limits in place of scholarship counts. Football, for example, was expected to have 105 roster spots, with every member of the team potentially able to receive financial aid, instead of 85 scholarships.

During the April 7 hearing, Wilken called for the roster limits to be grandfathered in, allowing walk-on players currently on rosters to retain their spots instead of being dismissed as teams try to get below their roster limits. UW football, for example, had 109 players on its roster in 2024, including 25 walk-on players who were eligible for another season of college football. Only 12 are on UW’s 2025 spring roster.

The House settlement’s delayed approval also brings the timing of its implementation into question, especially because revenue sharing is supposed to begin July 1.

Fisch, for his part, said he believes the House settlement will receive its final approval. He said the Huskies will continue to operate under the assumption that everything will proceed as expected. Fisch added he expects the House settlement to level the playing field financially, though he noted those impacts might not be visible for another year.

“In a year from now, we’ll be very close to a salary cap,” Fisch said. “And if that’s the case, I think we should have good parity within all of college football. Or at least, the Power Four.”

While Fisch waits for official clarity on the House settlement, he said he’s trying to keep his players informed and aware of the situation.

Fisch said he stresses that the Huskies will be a full revenue-share program, meaning the athletic department will share the maximum amount, expected to be $20.5 million in 2025, with student-athletes, and added that athletic director Pat Chun has repeatedly stated the athletic department is committed specifically to football. Fisch also noted Montlake Futures is continuing to provide NIL opportunities for players, while the athletic department remains in a holding pattern waiting for a decision about the House settlement.

“We’re going to do everything we possibly can to continue to build that up,” Fisch said, “and give these kids a chance to make as much as they possibly can make. Knowing that really, they are the marketing arm of our program.”