In Re: College Athlete NIL Litigation

This notice was issued because the Court has decided this lawsuit may proceed as a class action. This notice explains the lawsuit, who is included, and your legal rights and options.

Judge Claudia Wilken of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California is overseeing this lawsuit. The case is titled In Re: College Athlete NIL Litigation, Case No. 4:20-cv-03919. The people who initiated this case are called the Plaintiffs. The entities the Plaintiffs sued are called the Defendants. They include the NCAA, the Pac-12 Conference, Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, Southeastern Conference, and Atlantic Coast Conference. The conferences are also referred to as the “Conference Defendants” and “Power Five Conferences."

In a class action, one or more people called Class Representatives (in this case, Sedona Prince, Grant House, and Tymir Oliver) sue on behalf of people who have similar claims. Together, the Class Representatives and the people represented by them are called a Class or Class members. One court resolves the claims of all Class members, except for those who exclude themselves from the litigation.

The Court decided that this lawsuit can be a class action because it meets the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b)(3), which governs class actions in federal courts. Specifically, the Court found that:

• There are hundreds, if not thousands, of student-athletes affected by the litigation;
• There are legal questions of fact that are common to each of them;
• The Class Representatives’ claims are typical of the claims of the rest of the Classes;
• The Class Representatives, and the lawyers representing the Classes, will fairly and adequately represent the Classes’ interests;
• The common legal questions and facts are more important than questions that affect only individuals; and
• This class action will be more efficient than having many individual lawsuits.

Plaintiffs allege that the NCAA and Conference Defendants prohibit, cap, and limit the compensation that Division I student-athletes may receive for the commercial use of their names, images, and likenesses through NCAA rules, regulations, and interpretations, and that these rules are anticompetitive.

Specifically, Plaintiffs claim student-athletes were deprived of compensation that, depending on the Class, falls within three categories: (1) broadcast NIL (BNIL) injury and damages related to compensation that Plaintiffs argue the student-athletes would have received from conferences for the use of their NIL in broadcasts of FBS football or Division I basketball games in the absence of the challenged rules; (2) video game injury and damages related to compensation that Plaintiffs argue student-athletes would have received from video game publishers for the use of their NIL in college football or basketball video games in the absence of the challenged rules; and (3) third-party NIL injury and damages related to compensation that Plaintiffs argue student-athletes would have received from third parties for the use of their NIL from 2016 to July 1, 2021, before the interim NIL policy went into effect.

A copy of the Consolidated Amended Complaint is available under the Case Documents tab of this website.

Defendants deny violation of the federal antitrust laws or common law, and deny that this case is properly brought as a class action.

A copy of each Answer to the Amended Consolidated Complaint as filed by the Defendants is available under the Case Documents tab of this website.

No, the Court has not decided whether the Class Representatives or Defendants are correct. By establishing the Classes and issuing this Notice, the Court is not suggesting that the Class Representatives will win or lose the case. The Class Representatives must prove their claims at a trial.

The Class Representatives are asking for injunctive relief and money damages on behalf of themselves and the Classes to compensate them for the compensation they may have received for the use of their NIL.

There is no money available now and no guarantee there ever will be.

The lawsuit includes four groups or “Classes” of athletes as defined below.

Damages Classes

• Football and Men’s Basketball Class: All current and former college athletes who have received full Grant-in-Aid (GIA) scholarships and compete on, or competed on, a Division I men’s basketball team or an FBS football team, at a college or university that is a member of one of the Power Five Conferences (including Notre Dame), at any time between June 15, 2016 and November 3, 2023.
• Women’s Basketball Class: All current and former college athletes who have received full GIA scholarships and compete on, or competed on, a Division I women’s basketball team, at a college or university that is a member of one of the Power Five Conferences (including Notre Dame), at any time between June 15, 2016 and November 3, 2023.
• Additional Sports Class: Excluding members of the Football and Men’s Basketball Class and members of the Women’s Basketball Class, all current or former college athletes who competed on a Division I athletic team prior to July 1, 2021 and who received compensation while a Division I college athlete for use of their name, image, or likeness between July 1, 2021 and November 3, 2023 in this matter and who competed in the same Division I sport prior to July 1, 2021.

Injunctive Class

• Declaratory and Injunctive Relief Class: All current and former college athletes who compete on, or competed on, a Division I athletic team at any time between June 15, 2020 and the date of judgment in this case.

Yes, excluded from all three Damages Classes are the officers, directors, and employees of Defendants. These Classes also exclude all judicial officers presiding over this action and their immediate family members and staff, and any juror assigned to this action.

If you are a member of one of the Damages classes, you have two options:

• Do nothing, remain in the lawsuit, and await the outcome, or
• Exclude yourself (i.e. opt out) from the lawsuit.

If you are a member of the Injunctive Class:

• You will be bound by the outcome of the litigation. You do not have the ability to opt out of the Injunctive Class.

If you do nothing you are choosing to remain in the lawsuit. You will keep the right to share in any money or benefits that may come from a trial or settlement of this lawsuit. However, you will give up your right to start another lawsuit, continue another lawsuit, or be part of any other lawsuit against any of the Defendants about the legal issues raised or that could have been raised in this case. All of the Court’s orders in the case will apply to you and legally bind you. You will also be bound by any judgment in the lawsuit.

If you ask to be excluded or “opt-out” of the lawsuit, you won’t get any money or benefits from this lawsuit even if Plaintiffs obtain them as a result of trial or from any settlement. However, you will not be legally bound by any of the Court’s orders in this class action or any judgment or release entered in this lawsuit. You will keep your right to start another lawsuit, continue another lawsuit, or be part of another lawsuit against Defendants in the future about the legal issues in this case. If you exclude yourself so that you can start, or continue, your own lawsuit against Defendants, you should talk to your own lawyer soon, because your claims may be subject to a statute of limitations defense, which means your claims may be subject to expiration.

To exclude yourself you must send a letter to the Notice Administrator stating that you want to be excluded from the Class in In Re: College Athlete NIL Litigation, Case No. 4:20-cv-03919. Your letter must include your name, address, telephone number, NCAA ID number (if available), which Class you are part of (i.e. Football and Men’s Basketball Class, Women’s Basketball Class, or Additional Sports Class), and your signature.

You must mail your exclusion request to the Notice Administrator, so it is postmarked by July 12, 2024 to:

College Athlete NIL Litigation Notice Administrator 
P.O. Box 301134 
Los Angeles, CA 90030-1134

If you would like to be provided with updates about the lawsuit, including any compensation that may become available, go to www.NILCollegeAthleteLitigation.com and enter your contact information. The information you provide will be used to send you an email or postal mailing as updates become available.

If you remain in the Class, yes, the Court has already appointed attorneys from Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP and Winston & Strawn LLP to represent you and other Class members. These law firms are called Co-Lead Counsel for the classes. More information about these law firms and lawyers can be found at www.hbsslaw.com and www.winston.com/en. You can contact Steve Berman of Hagens Berman at [email protected]. You can contact Jeffrey Kessler of Winston & Strawn at [email protected].

You do not need to hire your own lawyer because Co-Lead Counsel are working on your behalf. However, if you wish to do so, you may hire your own lawyer at your own expense.

If Co-Lead Counsel obtains money or benefits for the Classes they will ask the Court to award them reasonable attorneys’ fees, as well as reimbursement of expenses. If the Court grants Co-Lead Counsel’s requests, these fees and expenses would either be deducted from any money obtained for the Classes, or be paid separately by the Defendants.

The Court will hold a trial in this case which is scheduled to begin in January 2025 at the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, 1301 Clay Street, Oakland, California 94612. During the trial, a Jury or the Judge will hear all of the evidence to help them reach a decision about whether the Plaintiffs or Defendants are right about the claims in the lawsuit.

No, you do not need to attend the trial. Co-Lead Counsel will present the case for the Plaintiffs, and Counsel for the Defendants will present the defenses. You or your own lawyers are welcome to come at your own expense.

If the Co-Lead Counsel obtains money or benefits as a result of the trial or a settlement, a new notice will be issued.

More information is available at www.NILCollegeAthleteLitigation.com, by sending an email to [email protected], by calling 1-877-514-1777 or by writing to College Athlete NIL Litigation Notice Administrator, P.O. Box 301134, Los Angeles, CA 90030-1134.

Complete copies of public pleadings, Court rulings, and other filings are also available by accessing the Court docket for this case, for a fee, through the Court’s PACER system at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov or visiting the Clerk of the Court at the address listed above between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Monday through Friday, excluding Court holidays.