The National Collegiate Athletic Association will soon settle two cases in connection with antitrust claims involving the use of the name, image and likeness of players. Thousands of former college athletes could be eligible for payments ranging from hundreds to more than a million dollars depending on the sport played, when, where, how long and what conference the athlete competed in. But lawyers fear some of the most deserving groups of players may not be aware of the case.
Patrick Bradford, a partner at Bradford Edwards LLP of New York, said that many athletes, especially Black college basketball and football players, are unaware of the settlement. The majority of damages is expected to go to athletes who played for power conferences in those two sports because they generate the most revenue due to billion-dollar media rights.
“Our concern is that the highest estimates (are that) the highest amount of money would be paid to men’s basketball players and football players,” Bradford told the Mississippi Free Press on January 23. “We know that in those two sports, many of the superstars are African American”
In July, the NCAA Board of Governors and all Power Five conferences agreed to a $2.78 billion antitrust settlement. All Division 1 athletes who competed between 2016 to present may be eligible for funds from a recent settlement agreement. Athletes who believe they are eligible for payment must file the claim by Jan. 31. Bradford said the estimated recovery amount for men’s basketball and football athletes is between $91,000 and $280,000.
“We want to make sure that as many student-athletes who played during that period know about the settlement and will be able to go online and register so that they can preserve their right to receive compensation,” Bradford said.
Plaintiffs in the House v. NCAA and Hubbard v. NCAA cases argued that college athletes were denied the chance to earn money from media appearances and endorsements. Before 2021, the NCAA prohibited college athletes from monetizing their name, image and likeness, commonly known as NIL. Athletes could also not earn money outside their scholarships.
The NCAA changed those rules in 2021. Bradford said the proposed settlement would compensate athletes for the years when NIL deals were not allowed.
In the House settlement, the NCAA and Power Five Conferences agreed to pay more than $2.5 billion into a settlement agreement fund to be divided among class members. In the Hubbard settlement, the NCAA and Power Five Conferences agreed to pay $200 million into a settlement fund to be divided among class members who competed between 2019-2022. Funds from each settlement will also be used to pay court-approved attorneys’ costs and fees.
U.S. District Court Judge Claudia Wilken granted preliminary approval for the settlement in September. In addition to the payments to former athletes, the 10-year deal establishes a system for schools to directly pay their athletes.
Bradford said his firm is concerned that the court-approved notification provisions had no specific notification or media marketing to the Black community even though Black athletes have been essential in building Division I basketball and football into a multi-billion-dollar industry.
“Only 5% of basketball and football players go on to play professional sports, there are 95% of these players that are out there who aren’t in the NFL,” Bradford said. “They may have been cut from their teams and lost their scholarship when they got injured. Now they may be pumping gas, working a minimum wage job, doing something that whereby their economic situation would benefit greatly from receiving (that money).”
Athletes who believe they are eligible for compensation can go to this link for more information.
