On October 7, 2024, a federal judge granted preliminary approval to the $2.78 billion settlement that will cap the amount of money National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) schools can spend in compensation for the use of student athletes’ name, image, likeness. The settlement calls for total back damages to be paid over ten years, which amounts to approximately $280 million annually. The final approval hearing is scheduled for April 7, 2025.
Eligible class action members include (1) Division I student-athletes who were eligible for competition between June 15, 2016 and September 15, 2024; (2) student-athletes who will compete on a Division I athletic team any time from the fall of 2025 and 10 years thereafter under House v. NCAA; and (3) Hubbard v. NCAA class action members, including Division I student-athletes who were eligible for competition between April 1, 2019 and September 15, 2024 who would have met the requirements for receiving an Academic Achievement Award under the criteria established by their schools for qualifying for such an award.
The claims period and notice campaign for this class action settlement began on October 18, 2024. The deadline to file claims and/or objections is January 31, 2025. Student-athletes are not required to use a third-party service in order to participate in any monetary relief, as the use of a third-party service will not increase any monetary relief that class members are eligible to receive under the settlement. No cost assistance is also available from the Claims Administrator and Class Counsel during the claims-filing period, and their contact information (as well as additional information regarding the settlement) is available on the Court-approved website: https://www.collegeathletecompensation.com/.
That said, student-athletes are allowed to be represented by their own lawyer at their own expense. Therefore, if you would like private representation to submit your claim for compensation, or would like to discuss your personal situation in detail, eligible athletes are invited to contact McCarter and English’s NCAA Sports Compliance attorneys as soon as possible to secure their fair share of the multibillion-dollar NCAA settlement.