ESPN: NCAA & Power Conferences in Deep Discussions to Settle NIL Anti-Trust Law Suit

[Ignatius L Hoops]

Sources: NCAA in talks to settle NIL antitrust case

The leaders of college sports are involved in "deep discussions" to reach a legal settlement that would likely lay out the framework for sharing revenue with athletes in a future NCAA business model, sources told ESPN.

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Another twist

The leaders of college sports are involved in "deep discussions" to reach a legal settlement that would likely lay out the framework for sharing revenue with athletes in a future NCAA business model, sources told ESPN.

The NCAA and its power conferences are defendants in an antitrust class action lawsuit, House v. NCAA, which argues that the association is breaking federal law by placing any restrictions on how athletes make money from selling the rights to their name, image or likeness. The case is scheduled to go to court in January 2025. If the plaintiffs win at trial, the NCAA and its schools could be liable to pay more than $4 billion in damages, which has motivated many leaders across the industry to seek a settlement.

Sources indicated that a turning point in the discussions, which have been ongoing, came last week in the Dallas area, where the power conference commissioners, their general counsels, NCAA president Charlie Baker, NCAA lawyers and the plaintiffs' attorneys met. (They chose the Dallas area because they were already there for the College Football Playoff meetings, which were held in that area last week.)

 

[Ignatius L Hoops]

Sources: NCAA could pay $2.7B to settle NIL case

The NCAA's national office might be footing the bill for a settlement expected to be more than $2.7 billion in the landmark House v. NCAA antitrust lawsuit in hopes of reshaping and stabilizing the college sports industry, according to multiple sources.

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The NCAA's national office might be footing the bill for a settlement expected to be more than $2.7 billion in the landmark House v. NCAA antitrust lawsuit in hopes of reshaping and stabilizing the college sports industry, according to multiple sources on Thursday.

Sources told ESPN this week that parties have proposed the NCAA's national office -- rather than its individual member schools or conferences -- would pay for the settlement of past damages over a period of 10 years. The NCAA payments would be paid to former college athletes who say they were illegally prevented from making money by selling the rights to their name, image and likeness.

The settlement would come with a corresponding commitment from conferences and schools to share revenue with athletes moving forward, per sources. The settlement would establish a framework for power conferences to share revenue with their athletes in the future. Sources have told ESPN that schools are anticipating a ceiling of nearly $20 million per year for athlete revenue share moving forward. (That nearly $20 million number is a permissive cap derived from a formula based on each school's revenue, and schools could choose how much they want to spend.)

The dollar value and timing, sources cautioned, is not yet set in stone and could change due to the myriad variables involved in the case.

Steve Berman, co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs, told ESPN he believes the House case is "the difference-maker" after more than a decade of legal battles chipping away at the NCAA's rules. Berman declined to comment on the specifics of the ongoing settlement talks, but said the plaintiffs' leverage is growing as the case moves closer to trial.

"Our leverage is a big cannonball rolling down a hill and picking up speed," Berman said. "The longer they wait, the more they're going to have to pay. It's that simple."

The NCAA declined to comment