⚖️ Chopped or Chosen? The House Settlement Fallout and the Future of Penn State’s Varsity Roster

The tremors from the historic House vs. NCAA settlement are still reverberating across the college sports landscape — and make no mistake, Penn State is smack in the eye of the storm. While much of the national discourse has fixated on the headline-making arrival of revenue sharing and the seismic shifts in Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL), another massive change is quietly threatening to reshape the very foundation of college athletics: roster limits.

And the million-dollar question now looms large in Happy Valley:

Will Penn State have to cut athletes from its varsity rosters?

The short answer? Not immediately. But the longer story is more nuanced — and, in many ways, a compelling glimpse into the messy intersection of money, fairness, and the future of amateur athletics.

A New Era, A New Limit: The Fallout of the House Settlement

Under the old regime, Division I football programs like Penn State were allowed up to 85 scholarship athletes and a total active roster cap of 120. Walk-ons filled in the gaps — often going unnoticed until one of them defied the odds and became a fan-favorite hero. But those days are numbered.

Thanks to the House settlement, beginning in 2025, programs must comply with a hard cap of 105 players — scholarships or not. It doesn’t matter how big your brand is, how deep your donor pool runs, or how successful your walk-on-to-scholarship development pipeline is. 105 is the new ceiling. Period.

The implications? Earth-shattering.

Gone are the days of filling depth charts with eager, scrappy walk-ons hoping to earn their spot. Now, those “fringe” players — often the soul of a locker room — are suddenly caught in the crossfire of a legal battle they never signed up for.

The Walk-On Safety Net: What Saves Penn State—for Now

Here’s where it gets interesting.

When Judge Claudia Wilken signed off on the House agreement, she included a critical clause that protects a select group of athletes from getting the axe.

These individuals, now dubbed “Designated Student-Athletes (DSAs),” are essentially grandfathered into their rosters if they were already competing in 2024 or had been recruited for 2025. That means Penn State — and every other Division I school — must honor their spots until those athletes exhaust their eligibility.

In practical terms, this means no mass walk-on purges — at least not yet. It also means some players who were already cut during the legal uncertainty may now be reinstated or even offered spots elsewhere.

Franklin’s Philosophical Stand: Transformational, Not Transactional

Head coach James Franklin, never one to mince words, has made it crystal clear where he stands:

“I don’t like it at all. I’m a D-II football player. I went to college on a $1,500 scholarship and a full Pell Grant,” he said.
“I know what college athletics can do to transform lives. I’m fighting to preserve that. This isn’t just about football — it’s about building men. And I don’t want to lose any of them.”

For Franklin, this isn’t just logistics — it’s philosophy vs. policy, and he’s drawing a line in the sand.

While the new rule technically spares his team from making gut-wrenching cuts in 2025, it leaves little room for the kind of underdog stories that fans rally behind. Think Dom DeLuca — once a walk-on, now a team captain and symbol of Penn State grit. That story may never happen again under the new guidelines.

Inside the Numbers: Penn State’s Current Roster Breakdown

Let’s talk cold hard numbers.

Right now, Penn State’s 2025 football roster sits at 127 players — about 22 over the new hard cap. But thanks to the DSA clause, Franklin and his staff have some breathing room.

Many of those 127 are walk-ons. And while at least 25 arrived without scholarships, the coaching staff was transparent throughout the past year, offering those players chances to transfer, compete, or wait it out. Several, including Feyisayo Oluleye, Beckham Dee, and Jason Estrella, entered the portal. Only Dee has landed elsewhere — at Lafayette College.

This level of transparency might be why Penn State is better positioned than many programs to weather this storm without controversy — or heartbreak.

Budget Battles: Revenue Sharing vs. Roster Strategy

And then comes the money.

With the $20.5 million in projected revenue sharing on the table beginning in 2025-26, Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft is walking a fiscal tightrope.

Football, men’s and women’s basketball, and wrestling will likely consume the lion’s share of that pie — but what about Penn State’s national-caliber teams in volleyball, hockey, fencing, soccer, and more?

Kraft says the plan is to remain competitive across all sports, even if it means making some high-stakes decisions.

“If there’s a world-class fencer and we need to use revenue sharing to land them? We’ll be ready to strike,” he said.

Each sport now has new roster caps and corresponding scholarship flexibility — a dramatic departure from the past. Here’s a snapshot of what Penn State’s varsity rosters will look like in the new world:

…and the list goes on. Every team must now juggle scholarships, roster depth, and player development in a more business-like manner than ever before.

The Big Picture: What’s Lost — and What Could Be Found

The House settlement has cracked open a new era in college athletics — one driven as much by compliance and compensation as by passion and performance. The days of expansive walk-on squads, full locker rooms, and “just happy to be here” players are fading fast.

What replaces them remains to be seen.

For now, Penn State is surviving the initial shock. But with new rules come new realities — and in 2026 and beyond, every roster spot will come with a price tag, whether in dollars or opportunity.

The romanticism of college sports is under siege — and Penn State is fighting to preserve it, one athlete at a time.