NEW ORLEANS — Justin Watson, the former Penn football wide receiver and three-time Super Bowl champion set to play in Super Bowl LIX this weekend, supported the Ivy League’s decision to opt out of the House v. NCAA settlement.
“I definitely trust the Ivy League board and their decision-making. … Even when I was there, Penn did a great job of protecting student-athletes,” Watson told The Daily Pennsylvanian exclusively while stressing the importance of the “student” in “student-athlete.”
The Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver graduated from the Wharton School in 2018, notably well before the NCAA allowed student-athletes to make money off of their name, image, and likeness.
“[NIL] is definitely a new world,” Watson said. “I think there’s such a value in [an Ivy League] education in how, at another university, you may get a small paycheck on the front end, but there’s such an immense value [in the long run] of an education at the University of Pennsylvania.”
However, several current Penn athletes, notably multiple current Red and Blue football players, expressed disappointment with the decision.
“I understand that the main focus is on academics, but when you see all these other schools looking out for their athletes, it sort of gets you thinking like ‘oh, maybe the transfer portal would be best for me and my family,’” junior and current wide receiver Jared Richardson said.
Watson thought differently when considering his feelings if he was a current Penn athlete.
“If it was me, if I was at Penn today, I’d still be playing all four years, I would give up anything to be with my guys at Franklin Field,” Watson said.
On Jan. 21, the Ivy League announced in an email sent to all Ivy League student-athletes that it will not participate in the $2.8 billion House v. NCAA settlement and that Ancient Eight athletics “will continue to not provide student-athletes with revenue sharing allocations, athletics scholarships, or direct [NIL] payments.”
The settlement — which will have a final hearing for approval on April 7 — will set up a revenue-sharing model allowing NCAA conferences to share 22% of their annual revenue with student-athletes. The Power Four NCAA conferences and the Pac-12 Conference, who are the defendants in the settlement, have agreed to this model. The Ivy League is opting out of the settlement and not participating in revenue-sharing or any forms of “pay for play.”
At Penn, Watson was a two-time Ivy League champion and two-time finalist for the Walter Payton Award as FCS Offensive Player of the Year. He remains the leader in several Ivy League receiving records and is second in all-time receiving yards in the Ancient Eight.
Watson is competing in the upcoming Super Bowl LIX with the Chiefs, looking for a fourth Super Bowl ring and the chance to be part of the first NFL team to complete a three-peat Super Bowl Championship. If Watson wins Super Bowl LIX, he’ll earn an additional accolade: the most Super Bowl wins by a player to come out of the Ivy League.
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