Federal judge rules in favor of group led by Ed O'Bannon in antitrust case against NCAA
A federal judge ruled in favor of Ed O'Bannon and his group of plaintiffs on Friday, thus paving the way for college basketball and football players to be compensated for the use of their names, images and likeness.
USA Today has more on the situation:
U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken, in a 99-page ruling in favor of a group of plaintiffs led by former UCLA basketball player Ed O'Bannon, issued an injunction that will prevent the NCAA the "from enforcing any rules or bylaws that would prohibit its member schools and conferences from offering their FBS football or Division I basketball recruits a limited share of the revenues generated from the use of their names, images, and likenesses in addition to a full grant-in-aid.
The decision should have tremendous ramification on the way NCAA will operate going forward. In effect, some teams could be forced to compensate recruits with "a limited share" of their program's earnings.
Wilkins goes on to state in her report that, "nothing in this injunction will preclude the NCAA from continuing to enforce all of its other existing rules which are designed to achieve legitimate pro competitive goals."
The contention, as ruled by Wilkins, in short, is against the "submarket" that exists for college football and basketball Division I players' names, images and likenesses in live game telecasts. Essentially, schools and programs are making money off the players' images without enough compensation in return.
Television networks frequently enter into licensing agreements to use the intellectual property of schools, conferences, and event organizers -- such as the NCAA or a bowl committee -- in live telecasts of football and basketball games. In these agreements, the network often seeks to acquire the rights to use the names, images and likenesses of the participating student-athletes during the telecast.
Wilkins' injunction should allow schools to set caps on the amount held in a trust for the players, but it should be no less than $5,000 per year per athlete for students who remain academically eligible to perform. The trust will be paid once the players graduate, or upon expiration of their eligibility.
Nothing is certain of yet, however, as there will likely still be a lengthy appeal process to come.
Ed O'Bannon and the NCAA released a statement on the ruling.
[H/T CBS Sports]