NCAA President Charlie Baker’s recent proposal that would, among other things, allow colleges to pay athletes for the use of their names, images and likenesses (NIL) was cited by plaintiffs’ lawyers on Wednesday night as one of the reasons that a federal judge should abolish the association’s remaining NIL rules without a trial in their lawsuit against the NCAA and the nation’s top college conferences.
The filing asked U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken to issue a summary judgment ruling that the NCAA’s remaining NIL rules violate antitrust law, “with only the amount of damages to be determined at trial.”
Attorneys for the NCAA and the conferences have said in prior filings that current and former college athletes are seeking more than $1.4 billion in damages. The filings did not specify whether that figure takes into account the tripling of damages awards that occurs in successful antitrust cases. If it does not, then more than $4.2 billion could be at stake in the case.
R&I – TP
RandyMarsh