It seems to me the 22 or so conferences do have leverage. They should offer a much smaller settlement amount for their conferences, or not accept it at all. The risk to the NCAA is what, the big football conferences split off? Wouldn't that officially kill the NCAA tournament as we know it along with a lot of revenue? Let them do it. The 22 conferences should call the bluff.
"“Who is suing, for what are they suing, and where will the damages be paid? Those are the questions we ask,” Lach said. “For the most part, it’s Power Five athletes. But we’ve been told because it’s a Division I rule, we need to share in the damages. I understand that, but sharing should be an equal hit across the board.”
"According to figures from the NCAA and the 22 non-FBS leagues, based on the approved funding formula, those outside the power conferences will sustain a hit of between 1% and 1.68% of their budgets. Those in power conferences will endure an average reduction of 0.61% of their current budget — budgets that will soon see a significant increase from College Football Playoff and television contracts.
"“I’m definitely not opting in,” said one non-FBS conference commissioner."