ESPN's Mark Schlabach reports that 16 former men's college basketball players, including Kansas stars Mario Chalmers and Sherron Collins, UConn guard Ryan Boatright and Arizona guard Jason Terry, have sued the NCAA and multiple conferences for the unauthorized use of their name, image and likeness in March Madness highlights.
Consider this: According to Yahoo! Sports, the NCAA spent $68 million on legal fees in 2020 defending its amateurism rules, including $34.8 million in accrued fees related to the NCAA v. Alston case. That case, of course, went before the Supreme Court and resulted in a 9-0 defeat for the NCAA.
The NCAA spent $61.5 million in legal fees in the year that ended in August 2023, according to the organization’s most recent 990 tax filing, as it continued to defend its business model in the face of multiple antitrust lawsuits. The $61.5 million is the organization’s second-highest annual total in at least the last 12 years, and likely its second highest total ever. The NCAA reported $53 million in fiscal 2022, $52.5 million in 2021 and $67.7 million in 2020 to defend its amateurism rules. Going back a decade—before the bulk of the antitrust lawsuits took hold—it was typical for the organization to spend less than $10 million.
The NCAA just settled a $2.8 Billion settlement in hopes of settling the NCAA v House lawsuit, with other cases stacked up like airplanes at LAX.
This Supreme Court has been quite clear -- the NCAA's collegiate business model is illegal. The Court is forcing change.
Another lawsuit
Consider this: According to Yahoo! Sports, the NCAA spent $68 million on legal fees in 2020 defending its amateurism rules, including $34.8 million in accrued fees related to the NCAA v. Alston case. That case, of course, went before the Supreme Court and resulted in a 9-0 defeat for the NCAA.
The NCAA spent $61.5 million in legal fees in the year that ended in August 2023, according to the organization’s most recent 990 tax filing, as it continued to defend its business model in the face of multiple antitrust lawsuits. The $61.5 million is the organization’s second-highest annual total in at least the last 12 years, and likely its second highest total ever. The NCAA reported $53 million in fiscal 2022, $52.5 million in 2021 and $67.7 million in 2020 to defend its amateurism rules. Going back a decade—before the bulk of the antitrust lawsuits took hold—it was typical for the organization to spend less than $10 million.
The NCAA just settled a $2.8 Billion settlement in hopes of settling the NCAA v House lawsuit, with other cases stacked up like airplanes at LAX.
This Supreme Court has been quite clear -- the NCAA's collegiate business model is illegal. The Court is forcing change.
Another lawsuit
