🌅 The Hidden Impact of the NCAA’s Landmark Settlement

SOURCE

JD Supra

WHAT TO KNOW

• A federal judge has approved the terms of a massive $2.8 billion antitrust settlement that paves the way for schools to begin directly paying student athletes. The House settlement (named after the lead plaintiff, Grant House) allows schools to share up to $20.5 million in revenue with their athletes through licensing agreements beginning this year, while the NCAA and its conferences agreed to pay $2.7 billion in back pay over the next 10 years to athletes who competed from 2016 to 2024 but didn’t receive any compensation (though that money will ultimately come from the schools, as well). The present settlement is distinct from the “name, image, and likeness” (NIL) rules promulgated by the NCAA in 2021.

WHY IT MATTERS

• A group of women former college athletes have appealed the judge’s decision, arguing the settlement violates Title IX because female athletes will be paid less of the settlement award than male athletes, particularly those in football and basketball. One of the lawyers representing the group of women also said the appeal is based on Congress having “expressly rejected” efforts to prioritize benefits to football and basketball over Title IX requirements in the past.

CONNECT THE DOTS

• The settlement also calls for roster limits that are expected to have an outsized impact on Olympic-sport athletes, whose scholarships cost just as much as those of football players but whose sports do not produce any meaningful revenue. At least 32 individual sports have been dropped by Division I schools since the House lawsuit began in 2020, the bulk of which have been Olympic sports, potentially impacting Team USA’s pipeline of collegiate talent (ironically, House is a former swimmer at Arizona State University).

TOGETHER WITH

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