The NCAA continues to face legal challenges for its role in decades of profiting on the name, image, and likeness (NIL) of student-athletes across the country. Prior to 2021, NCAA rules prohibited student-athletes from being compensated in any way other than scholarships, purportedly to protect the amateur nature of college athletics. When the Supreme Court held that those NCAA Rules violated antitrust law, the NCAA was forced to amend its rules and change its operations, but that only impacted student-athletes going forward.
The question arises, what about the All-American stars whose name, image, and likeness have been used by the NCAA, their conferences, and broadcast networks for decades? The intermittent changes in law have opened up the possibility for former student-athletes to cash in on their NIL.
On September 10, 2024, four former Michigan football players, Denard Robinson, Baylon Edwards, Michael Martin, and Shawn Crable (“Plaintiffs”) sued the NCAA and Big Ten Network. The NCAA and Big Ten Networks were accused of intentionally exploiting athletes for their own monetary gain, using their names, images, and likenesses, to advertise yearly for “The Game” (i.e., The Michigan v. Ohio State rivalry game).
Plaintiffs asked the Court to certify a class which contains all NCAA student-athletes prior to June 15, 2016, whose name, image, or likeness has been used in any video posted by or licensed by the NCAA or Big Ten Network.
Plaintiffs bring several antitrust claims against the NCAA, including that the NCAA exercises monopoly power to reduce the cost of student-athletes’ rights of publicity to $0, and the NCAA forces student-athletes to sign away these rights. The theory of the case is essentially this – the less the student-athletes get paid, the more money the NCAA or Big Ten Network has. Plaintiffs asked the Court to declare that the contracts signed by the former student-athletes are not valid and seek 50 million dollars to compensate the class members for the use of their NIL by the NCAA and the Big Ten Network.
While this case only applies to former student-athletes whose NIL has been used by the NCAA and Big Ten Network, it is possible that other student-athletes bring similar class actions against the networks for their respective conferences.
Whether you are a student-athlete vetting an NIL deal, a brand, university, or collective seeking to comply with rapidly changing laws, in the midst of an NIL dispute, or think you have an NIL claim, Munck Wilson Mandala is prepared to handle your legal needs. Munck Wilson Mandala LLP is one of the nation’s only law firms with a dedicated NIL and sports law practice. Ahead of the curve, our team of legal professionals is equipped to address any legal matter related to sports law, intellectual property, or NIL.