Welcome to McCarter’s Playing Field: Sports Law Notes, where you’ll find the latest in sports law, notes about our practice, and important updates for athletes, teams, institutions, facilities, investors, and others in the industry.
States Debate NIL Issues: Ira Gonzalez
Co-Managing Partner of McCarter’s Miami Office, is Sole-Outside Counsel Invited to Participate in FL House of Representatives’ Combined Workgroup on Collegiate NIL
The Florida House of Representatives invited Ira Gonzalez, as well a group of coaches, former and current student athletes, university presidents, head coaches, general counsel, and athletic directors to participate in a two-day Workgroup to discuss the state of Name, Image, and Likeness, (NIL) in Florida. The Workgroup joined state legislatures to provide diverse perspectives to help Florida navigate the future of NIL, with a focus on how NIL will impact the legal rights of student athletes, the legal responsibilities of educational institutions, and the impact of those rights and responsibilities on the finances of Florida’s public universities.
The Workgroup, led by Representative Alex Rizo, discussed the preliminary approval of the House settlement and the major implications the settlement would have on college athletics. Ira was invited to provide testimony on both days of the hearing, which served as a brainstorming session for state representatives on what a solution to NIL in Florida may look like in a post-House world. The legislators, along with Ira and the rest of the panelists, discussed a plan of action for the future of NIL in the state which included discussion of implementation of potential policies as well as engaging in a national conversation with other states and Congress.
The hearing made it clear that there is no easy solution to how Florida should navigate the future of NIL. However it was obvious that there are passionate individuals and legislators who are committed to continuing to provide Florida schools and student athletes with the most advantageous NIL opportunities possible.
The full hearing can be watched here, thanks to The Florida Channel’s website:
Day 1 Day 2
Tennessee v. NCAA Settlement Approved
Tennessee v. NCAA, an ongoing case challenging the NCAA’s restrictions on universities discussing compensation with prospective student-athletes, has reached a settlement. Under the terms of the settlement, the NCAA will no longer prohibit athletes in the transfer portal from discussing or negotiating NIL compensation opportunities with schools prior to enrollment.
A New GM Takes Over at Berkeley
Longtime NFL coach Ron Rivera, who most recently served as head coach of the Washington Commanders from 2020 to 2023, is returning to his home state and alma mater, UC Berkeley, to serve as the school’s first Football General Manager. Rivera was a linebacker at Berkeley, before going on to spend 36 seasons in the NFL (nine as a player, 27 as a coach). Rivera will be involved in “every aspect” of the team and is now the latest GM to be hired in the NCAA, part of an ongoing trend, as schools evolve in the new world of NIL and prepare for a post-House world. Other notable recent GM hires include Andrew Luck at Stanford, Jim Tanner at UNC, and Pat Stewart at Nebraska. Expect this trend to continue with more familiar names being named as school GMs.
Trae Young Becomes Assistant GM at Alma Mater
The University of Oklahoma has named current NBA star and OU basketball legend Trae Young its new assistant GM of men’s basketball. After being named Young pledged to donate $1 million to the program. This news comes just a few weeks after Davidson named Steph Curry as its assistant GM. Perhaps this is just the start of NBA stars taking on roles with their alma maters.
Want a Top Basketball Transfer? It’s Gonna Cost You
Jeff Goodman of Field of 68 has reported that the going rate for top basketball players in the transfer portal is currently sitting in the $2.5 to $3 million range. It is assumed that with the House settlement just days away, transfers are rushing to secure deals before revenue sharing comes into effect and potentially ends the sustainability of such high prices.
House v. NCAA Settlement Committee
The NCAA, along with 10 power five athletic directors, have formed a Settlement Implementation Committee. As we near an expected final approval of the House settlement by Judge Wilken on April 7, this group will be tasked with drafting rules to facilitate compliance, creating a system to ensure that NIL deals are legitimate, and forming an entity to enforce settlement rules. The schools represented on the committee include Texas A&M, Oregon State, Kentucky, Georgia Tech, Ohio State, Washington, Cincinnati, Washington State, Clemson, and Arizona. The NCAA specified that:
The committee is divided into four working groups, each focused on a specific component of the settlement:
- Drafting new rules and clarifying existing rules to facilitate consistent compliance with all aspects of the settlement.
- Developing a digital platform for the reporting and measurement of payments made to student athletes by their institutions to ensure compliance with the cap set forth in the proposed settlement.
- Creating a system to ensure that third-party NIL deals entered into with student-athletes are legitimate deals that will use the student athlete’s NIL to advance a valid business purpose.
- Forming a new entity to enforce these rules with an emphasis on efficient investigative procedures, timely decision-making, appropriate penalties, and ensuring accountability for bad actors.
Why Mid-Majors May be the Real Winners of Rev Share
Several recent articles, including ones by On3 and Yahoo Sports detail how mid-majors, like the Big East, will have a leg up on Power-Four schools in college basketball in a post-House revenue sharing era.
Through the revenue-sharing model in the proposed House settlement, schools will be permitted to share 22% of their revenue from media, ticket, and sponsorship sales with their athletes, allocated however the school chooses. Power-Four programs are expected to allocate 70% to 85% of that money to their football athletes, 10% to 20% to their basketball athletes, and the rest to other non-revenue generating sports. Additionally, any incentives written into athletes’ revenue-sharing agreements, whether or not they have been earned, count towards the cap.
Mid-major schools, like those in the Big East, will have an advantage because they do not have Division 1 football programs that require significant investment. As noted by Ross Dellenger in his Yahoo Sports article, most power schools will be left with roughly $2 to $4 million to spend on their men’s basketball programs after spending $13 to $16 million on football. However, Big East and other non-power league schools will have between $5 and $7 million to spend on their men’s basketball programs.
This predicament would not be an issue if collectives were expected to be able to operate as they do today in a post-House world. However, due to the House settlements’ “fair market value” check on NIL deals over $600, it remains to be seen if the collectives will be able to spend as they do now. Unfortunately, this could lead to schools once again paying athletes under-the-table, in order to remain competitive.
NCAA Filed Opening Brief Seeking Reversal of Pavia v. NCAA
In December, the NCAA was enjoined from enforcing rules that would prevent Vanderbilt QB and former JuCo athlete, Diego Pavia from playing a sixth season in 2025/26. Since the Court’s ruling in this case, we have seen an abundance of similar suits being filed by other former JuCo athletes who hope to remain eligible for NCAA competition. Pavia’s argument, which led to the Court finding in his favor, centered around the fact that in the new era of college sports where athletes can earn money, the NCAA’s eligibility rules unreasonably constrain the labor market. In the NCAA’s new brief, they ask the Sixth Circuit to hold an oral argument as they seek a reversal of the preliminary injunction, citing various reasons why the lower court was mistaken in its ruling. We will follow this case closely and keep you updated as Pavia’s attorneys respond and the case progresses.
“College Sports Day on the Hill” Set for April
Hundreds of conference commissioners, athletic directors, coaches, and student athletes are expected to visit Capitol Hill on April 9 for another “College Sports Day.” Participants will meet with elected officials to lobby and make the case for a national standard for NIL. Just two days after Judge Wilken is expected to grant final approval to the House v. NCAA settlement, these officials plan to meet and lobby for a college sports antitrust exemption, as well as confirmation that college athletes will not be classified as employees.
St. Francis – From Dancing to D3?
St. Francis, whose name may sound familiar after their thrilling opening act in the 2025 March Madness tournament against Alabama State (a game in which we saw them lose on a heart-breaking last second bucket by Alabama State) has announced their shocking plan to depart from Division 1 and move to Division 3. Their move is the first of what we assume to be many small Division 1 schools migrating to Division 3 as revenue-sharing is expected to pick up with the anticipated approval of the House settlement. The school said that they made the decision to place their students’ academic success and well-being first. By the end of their transition to D3, the school will no longer have scholarship responsibilities to their athletes, nor will they have any participation in the new revenue-sharing model.
Keeping Up with NIL: State Updates
- Nebraska introduces a bill that would go against the House settlement rule that requires all NIL deals over $600 to be determined as “fair market value” in order to be approved. This bill would allow athletes to enter into large collective deals like we see today. One of the most anticipated changes in the NIL landscape resulting from the House settlement is the end of these large collective deals, so bills similar to this one may become more common as states attempt to find t competitive advantages in recruitment.
- Colorado’s NIL Bill has passed the House and Senate, and the Governor has now signed off on it as well. The bill will update the state’s NIL laws and allow schools to pay athletes directly for their use of athletes’ NIL.
Is All Fair in Love and Tennis?: Antitrust Suit Filed by Nick Kyrgios and Others
There could be a massive shake-up coming to professional tennis since the Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA, and 12 players, including Association of Tennis Professionals star and former Wimbledon finalist, Nick Kyrgios, brought an antitrust suit against the four major tennis organizations. The suit, Popisil et al. v. ATP Tour et al., was filed in the Southern District of New York and alleges the economic and opportunistic suppression of professional tennis players by the four major tennis organizations. The most notable claim accuses the organizations of price fixing, citing the denial of billionaire Larry Ellison’s 2012 proposal to increase the prize pool at tennis’s “fifth major,” Indian Wells.
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