"Not everybody will get to that 20.5 number": Kirk Ferentz calls revenue-sharing 'positive step' as Iowa aims playoff spot in 2025

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz spoke at the Big Ten media days on Thursday. Among the many questions he faced was the discussion about the NCAA's $20.5 million annual cap for spending on NIL for student-athletes.

When Ferentz was asked about the NCAA's revenue-sharing model, he suggested that not all teams would spend up to the $20.5 million limit.

"It's a positive step," Ferentz said. "What we've gone through the past couple of years has been tough to navigate. ... I view this as a positive. Not everybody will get to that 20.5 number, but there's always been some inequality in college athletics."

As part of the House vs. NCAA settlement, the latter will pay a reported $2,576,000,000 into a settlement fund. The money will be paid annually over the next 10 years to former student-athletes from 2016 to 2024 who didn't receive NIL money.

Ferentz has been coaching at Iowa since the 1999 season. He has led the team to a 204–124 record so far across 26 years, and is the winningest coach in program history.

Ferentz has never led the Hawkeyes to the College Football Playoff, but will be hoping that his team can qualify for the playoffs next season.

Iowa HC Kirk Ferentz is confident of having Mark Gronkowski lead the team's offense in the 2025 season

While speaking about the NIL revenue sharing, Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz also said that he was confident of quarterback Mark Gronowski leading the team to success in the 2025 season.

"I know we'll be much improved at quarterback," Ferentz told ESPN on Thursday. "That's not a knock on anybody, but if you just go back and chart the games the last two seasons, three seasons for that matter, we've had bad health there, we've had bad fortune, bad luck and, quite frankly, playing with some guys that weren't ready to play at this level."

Iowa finished with an 8-5 record in the 2024 season. However, Ferentz will be eying double-digit wins for the Hawkeyes in the upcoming season.

The Hawkeyes will open their 2025 season against Albany on Aug. 30.

About the author

Arnold is a journalist covering College Sports and the NFL at Sportskeeda. He has been with the company since August 2022.

Arnold graduated with a degree in Mass Media from MIC. As a sports fanatic, he pursued writing to express his thoughts and opinions on sports events across the globe. He has also worked at Wizcraft and Publicis.

Arnold began supporting the Kansas City Chiefs after watching Patrick Mahomes lead them to Super Bowl glory in 2020. He also has a soft corner for the New York Yankees since he's lived in New York for two years. Arnold's favorite coach of all time is Andy Reid, and the Chiefs dynasty looks far from over.

In his free time, Arnold enjoys reading, exercising, and traveling. He follows several other sports including football, cricket, tennis, basketball, boxing and F1.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash