Ed O’Bannon weighs in on the NCAA antitrust settlement and the future of NIL

The NCAA’s historic antitrust settlement – if finalized, approved and triumphs over potential legal challenges – will radically change college sports and end amateurism.

Universities and conferences will be able to pay players directly. There will be salary thresholds and income distribution similar to those of professional athletes. Players who have been denied NIL, video game and streaming revenue will receive what they are owed. In the future, players will gain a piece of the pie that athletes have long created through their work and marketability.

None of this would have happened without Ed O’Bannon.

“It’s good to see justice come,” O’Bannon said in an interview. “It was a long battle.”

Fifteen years ago, the former UCLA basketball star and NBA forward brought a case that sparked the evolutionary changes taking place today.

O’Bannon was then retired from the game for five years. He enjoyed life as a 36-year-old dad, coaching his children who played sports at a high level. A friend told O’Bannon that he had bought a video game called NCAA March Madnesspublished by Electronic Arts. His friend said O’Bannon was the best player in the game.

This was because the game featured classic teams, including the 1995 championship UCLA Bruins. O’Bannon, who won the John R. Wooden Award for best player in men’s college basketball this year, was indeed the best player. O’Bannon’s name was not included in the game, but the depiction of his likeness included everything else, including race, height and jersey number. The same went for O’Bannon’s teammates.

“I thought it was weird that EA or the NCAA hadn’t contacted my teammates or me,” O’Bannon recalled. “I’m not a lawyer, but something seems off to me.”

O’Bannon’s instincts kicked in. The publisher paid for use of intellectual property related to schools and the NCAA, but not for players to use it their intellectual property. This was due to the NCAA’s amateur system, which prohibited players from exercising their right to publicity. This right protects the name, surname, image and likeness of persons and other characteristics against commercial misappropriation. But EA faced its own conundrum: It wouldn’t be able to reach an agreement with the NCAA for the game if it was also defying the NCAA by paying players.

O’Bannon and his wife, Rosa, met with lawyers and their longtime friend Sonny Vaccaro to figure out what, if anything, to do. O’Bannon enjoyed life and his 11-year professional career was long over. It would be easy for him to dismiss his concerns.

But it wasn’t O’Bannon.

“I knew something had to be done,” he said. “I thought that once people started looking under the hood of the NCAA rules, they would realize that the rules weren’t really related. Why can’t a video game company pay college athletes to play a video game when the same company pays NBA and NFL players? It just doesn’t make any sense.”

O’Bannon also called the situation unfair to college athletes, many of whom are minorities and few of whom would ever turn professional.

“Most of my teammates never made a dime, but they were in this video game and selling it for $60 while the NCAA is making money,” he said.

O’Bannon then filed a lawsuit against the NCAA and EA, alleging violations of federal antitrust law and California publicity law. He knew from the beginning that if he won, he would not be paid. The case involved changing the rules so that college athletes would have the same rights as their classmates.

“Not everything is about money and fame,” O’Bannon emphasized. “This is about basic fairness and dignity for athletes to enjoy the same rights as other Americans. . . . Most players don’t go pro, so getting the chance to make money while getting an education is key.

Before the 2014 Oakland lawsuit, O’Bannon and EA reached a settlement that called for EA to pay approximately $40 million to more than 29,000 current and former players who participated in the class action lawsuit.

The NCAA had no interest in settling the case and rolled the dice with a trial. It turned out to be a disastrous mistake. O’Bannon’s legal team showed how the NCAA and schools cashed in on players’ NIL while simultaneously denying those players a chance to earn money.

O’Bannon won the trial and appeal. The NCAA was ordered to change its rules to include the full cost of attendance.

In late 2010, lawmakers in California, Florida and other states used the O’Bannon case to push for NIL statutes that would guarantee college athletes would receive compensation for endorsements, sponsorships and influence. The case also played a key role in a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision NCAA v. Alston and has played a key role in the antitrust cases currently being decided by the NCAA.

O’Bannon is unconcerned that some of those who resented him for challenging the system have now accepted the new world he has made possible.

“I was basically asking the players to share the money they deserve, but look, that money has to come from somewhere,” he reasoned. “I know that college sports leaders and some of their friends in the media viewed me as taking advantage of their lucrative system. I’m glad people now see justice as a good thing.”

O’Bannon is also pleased to see the return of college sports-themed video games. EA Sports College Football 25 will be the company’s first college video game since 2013.

“It’s great that the game is back, but I honestly wonder what took so long,” he reflected. “If the NCAA had done what we asked for in 2009 – allowed college players to be paid to appear in video games and television broadcasts – it would have saved them 15 years of losing in court. It would also allow college athletes to capitalize on their fame like other Americans, and allow players to play all the time.

O’Bannon is currently a juvenile probation officer and youth basketball coach in Nevada. He and Rosa are advocates of using NIL to expand the opportunities for young athletes in all sports to excel in school.

During the interview, O’Bannon also reflected on the recent death of basketball legend Bill Walton. O’Bannon knew Walton, a fellow UCLA Bruin and fellow players’ rights advocate.

“I enjoyed our time together, may he rest in peace,” O’Bannon said.

O’Bannon wrote Judge of the Court: The Inside Story of My Battle with the NCAA With Sportico Michael McCann.