College sports advocacy group opposes NCAA lawsuit settlement, saying it limits potential profits

A prominent college athletics advocacy group announced Thursday it is opposing a $2.8 billion settlement in an antitrust lawsuit between the NCAA and major college conferences, arguing that the plan for schools to share athletic revenue would actually limit athletes’ earning potential.

The National Association of College Athletes said the so-called House settlement is intended to eliminate sponsorship-funded collectives that currently pay college athletes millions of dollars for the right to use their names, images and likenesses.

“This is an unfair ruling that would not only harm current athletes but also future collegiate athletes who are only in their fourth year,” said NCPA executive director Ramogi Huma.

A court hearing is scheduled for next Thursday, where a federal judge in California could rule on the plaintiff’s motion for preliminary approval of the deal, which includes $2.78 billion in damages for former and current college athletes. Several motions to deny preliminary approval have already been filed, including one from a plaintiff in another antitrust lawsuit filed in Colorado who declined to participate in the settlement agreement.

Even if the settlement is preliminarily approved, objections to it will still be possible in the coming months until it is finally approved.

“NCPA will work to reject this settlement so that the parties can reach a fair settlement or go to trial,” Huma said in a statement. He declined to elaborate on NCPA’s strategy.

The NCPA said it opposes the agreement because it gives conferences the ability to end the proposed revenue sharing if athletes are deemed employees with the right to collectively bargain with schools or leagues. The issue is the subject of several fights that are likely to go to court, including an effort by the Dartmouth men’s basketball team to unionize.

Marc Edelman, a sports law professor at Baruch College in New York, called the settlement a “significant and innovative” attempt to change how college athletes are paid. He also agreed with the NCPA’s concerns about the plan to set a cap on the amount of revenue schools can share with athletes and to cut off third-party compensation from those deemed by the NCAA as sponsors.

“He talks about very real issues,” Edelman said.

Huma confirmed that licensing firm One Team Partners, which works with the NFL Players’ Association, recently sent emails to thousands of American football players encouraging them to join the NCPA. He said the action was unrelated to the NCPA’s announcement that it would oppose the settlement proposal.

Jim Cavale is the president of Athletes.org, which tries to organize athletes and said it already has nearly 4,000 members. He called the settlement a huge step in the right direction.

“In terms of conditions, it’s not ideal because the athletes weren’t involved,” he said. “This is the main problem of college sports. The only lasting solution is a partnership between athletes and schools.”

Cavale said he believes the settlement will eventually gain final approval, but he believes the athletes’ challenges to some of the terms could lead to changes in the final version that could give them the right to negotiate revenue-share agreements with their schools.

Huma, a former UCLA football player, and the NCPA have been at the forefront of advocating for college sports reform and greater benefits for athletes for decades.

The NCPA filed a complaint in 2022 with the National Labor Relations Board in California, demanding that USC athletes be considered employees of the school and its conference. A final ruling is pending. In the Dartmouth case, the NLRB regional director ruled that the basketball players should be considered employees and gave them the green light to vote to join a union.

The school is challenging the decision.

The NCPA says the settlement does not guarantee that schools will not cut athletic revenue and could result in a reduction in the number of athletic scholarships awarded by the wealthiest programs.

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