SportsNCAA to let schools offer NIL before enrollment

NCAA to let schools offer NIL before enrollment

-

- Advertisment -spot_img


The NCAA has agreed to permanently drop its rule prohibiting athletes from negotiating the terms of name, image and likeness payments until after they enroll in school.

The change is one of the terms of a legal settlement announced Monday between the NCAA and a group of state attorneys general, who sued the association last year claiming that the restriction on NIL negotiations violated federal antitrust law. The settlement, which still needs to be approved by the judge overseeing the case, marks another step forward as the college sports industry prepares to embrace a more professional business model in the months ahead.

The NCAA’s now-abandoned rule was designed to try to keep schools and booster collectives from using NIL deals as a recruiting incentive for incoming high school athletes and players in the transfer portal. Though schools and boosters were allowed to speak generally about the kind of financial opportunities that might be available on campus, they were prohibited from making a specific offer to an athlete until he or she was enrolled.

Despite efforts to keep money from becoming an inducement, many coaches have publicly stated that NIL packages are a major factor in the decision-making process of recruits.

Tennessee’s attorney general, Jonathan Skrmetti, filed a lawsuit challenging the rule last January, one day after the University of Tennessee revealed that its athletic department was being investigated for potential recruiting violations. Skrmetti argued that the rule kept athletes from negotiating with a school when their bargaining power was at its peak during the recruiting process. Florida, New York, Virginia and Washington, D.C., subsequently joined the lawsuit against the NCAA.

“With a multi-billion-dollar entertainment industry rising from the foundation of college sports, the kids who make it all happen should not be the only people denied an opportunity to prosper,” Skrmetti said in a statement Monday. “This settlement benefits generations of student-athletes, protects Tennessee universities from NCAA retaliation, and pushes college sports toward a new equilibrium that acknowledges financial reality while preserving competitive integrity. I’m glad to see the NCAA give up on defending a world that no longer exists.”

Last February, a federal judge in Tennessee granted a preliminary injunction against the rule. The injunction has allowed booster collectives and schools to make specific financial offers to athletes in the recruiting process during the past year. Monday’s settlement makes this change permanent. The NCAA’s current rules state that only third-party groups can pay athletes for their NIL rights, but that is on track to change this summer.

The association and its most powerful conferences have agreed to let schools pay athletes directly as part of the terms for a separate antitrust settlement, widely known as the House settlement. A hearing to approve the terms of that deal is scheduled for April 7. As part of the House settlement, each school will be able to share roughly $20.5 million with its athletes via NIL deals next academic year — a figure that is expected to steadily rise during the 10-year lifespan of the settlement.

Many schools have already started signing contracts with their athletes in anticipation of the settlement’s approval. Monday’s agreement clears the way for schools to continue negotiating the specific terms of these deals with athletes during the recruiting process.



Source link

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest news

Sunita Williams Return To Earth: Journey Begins Today – Key Updates From NASA And More

What was supposed to be around a week's stay stretched to become a 9-month sojourn in the space....

Ohio grandmother mauled to death by pit bulls while ‘peacefully gardening’: lawsuit

Warning: This story contains graphic content.Two pit bulls that mauled an Ohio grandmother to death last year...

Mark Grossich, Who Opened Campbell Apartment and More Luxe NYC Bars, Dies at 74

By that point, Hospitality Holdings had expanded to include its first restaurant, Madison & Vine, an American bistro...

Autoridades indican la razón por la que deportaron a una profesora de Brown

El Departamento de Seguridad Nacional informó el lunes que había deportado a una profesora y médica de la...
- Advertisement -spot_imgspot_img

Stock futures are little changed after major averages book two straight winning days: Live updates

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on March 17, 2025. NYSEStock futures are near...

Must read

New country album pays homage to Tom Petty

New country album pays homage to Tom Petty...

At least 10 shot dead as section of Kenyan parliament set on fire

At least ten people were shot dead in...
- Advertisement -spot_imgspot_img

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you