The NCAA reported spending $63.5 million in legal fees during the fiscal year that ended August 2025, according to its latest tax return, bringing its five-year total spending on outside counsel to $292.6 million.
The biggest beneficiary was law firm Wilkinson Stekloff, which received nearly $19.6 million in FY25. The firm’s partner Rakesh Kilaru has served as lead counsel for the association in the House v. NCAA antitrust litigation that was resolved with a court-approved settlement in June 2025.
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner was the second-highest-paid law firm, receiving $7.3 million.
The NCAA also continued to incur substantial litigation costs beyond attorney fees. Its latest tax filing, a public copy of which was released Friday, disclosed $372.3 million in legal settlements during FY25. Combined with the landmark House settlement, the association has spent more than $3 billion in legal settlement costs over the past two fiscal cycles.
Meanwhile, the NCAA reported $1.56 billion in FY25 revenue, up $14% from the prior fiscal year, and $1.57 billion in expenses—down nearly 60%. Those year-over-year comparisons, however, are heavily distorted because the NCAA recognized the full back damages payout of the $2.7 billion House settlement as an expense in FY24.
A more meaningful comparison is television rights revenue, which increased to $1.12 billion in FY25 from $948.4 million in FY24.
The past fiscal cycle saw the NCAA continue to rebuild its workforce following pandemic-era reductions. The NCAA reported an employee count of 655 by the end FY25, up from a low of 591 in FY23, though still down from pre-pandemic staffing levels.
The FY25 filing disclosed the first full year of compensation for NCAA president Charlie Baker, who was paid $3.39 million during the 2024 calendar year, including $3 million in base salary. Executive vice president Stanley Wilcox received $1.54 million, while senior VP Kevin Lennon earned $920,038.
Former NCAA president Mark Emmert, who retired in March 2023, no longer appeared on the NCAA’s payroll in FY25, after receiving $6.3 million in deferred and other incentive compensation in FY24.
