Law firm celebrates monumental victory for NCAA college athletes, culminating a 20-year legal fight

A federal judge today granted preliminary approval to a historic $2.78 billion settlement with the NCAA on behalf of hundreds of thousands of current and former student-athletes at Division I schools, culminating a long legal battle fought by law firm, Hagens Berman.

The antitrust class-action lawsuit against the NCAA will bring historic changes to college sports and will allow college athletes to be fairly compensated for the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL) in what has become a multibillion-dollar industry. The total value of new payments and benefits to college athletes is expected to exceed $20 billion over the next 10 years, making it one of the largest antitrust class-action settlements in history.

“We are pleased that we are one step closer to a revolutionary change in college athletics that will allow billions in revenue sharing,” said Steve Berman, managing partner and co-founder of Hagens Berman.

The preliminarily approved settlement resolves three pending antitrust lawsuits, House v. NCAA, Hubbard v. NCAA, and Carter v. NCAA. As part of the settlement, the NCAA and its conferences will pay more than $2.75 billion in damages to college athletes over a 10-year period, eliminate rules prohibiting schools from making direct payments to athletes, and dramatically expand the availability of compensation and benefits available to athletes. This includes eliminating restrictions on the number of available athletic scholarships across all Division I sports.

What’s Next?

Following today’s preliminary approval, there will be a final approval hearing on April 7, 2025. Notice to the class begins two weeks from today, on Oct. 18, 2024, and will continue on a rolling basis.

The claims period, during which class members will be eligible to file claims also begins Oct. 18, 2024, and ends Jan. 31, 2025. Class member athletes will need to update their contact information and payment method, and file their claim by this date. Jan. 31, 2025 also marks the deadline by which any class member needs to object or opt-out, should they choose to do so.

Find out more about the class-action lawsuit against the NCAA and its member conferences.

Hagens Berman is a global plaintiffs’ rights complex litigation law firm with a tenacious drive for achieving actual results for those harmed by corporate negligence and fraud. Since its founding in 1993, the firm’s determination has earned it numerous national accolades, awards and titles of “Most Feared Plaintiff’s Firm,” MVPs and Trailblazers of class-action law. The firm’s cases have recovered more than $320 billion for its clients. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.

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