NCAA officially cannot regulate NIL

[HuskyWarrior611]

At least temporarily. It’s truly going to be the Wild Wild West out here.

 

[HooperScooper]

There is no amateurism. College players will be professionals. Recruits are free agents who are free to go to the highest bidder. Should get interesting.

A federal judge in Tennessee granted a preliminary injunction on Friday afternoon that prohibits the NCAA from punishing any athletes or boosters for negotiating name, image and likeness deals during their recruiting process or while they are in the transfer portal.

NCAA rules prohibit athletes from signing NIL contracts that are designed as inducements to get them to attend a particular school -- one of the few restrictions in place for how athletes can make money. For example, the NCAA recently announced sanctions against Florida State football because a member of its coaching staff connected a prospect with a booster collective that works closely with the Seminoles. The collective made a specific offer to the player, who was considering transferring from his current school to Florida State.

The attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia argued that the NCAA is illegally restricting opportunities for athletes by preventing them from negotiating the terms of NIL deals prior to deciding where they want to go school. The lawsuit was filed Jan. 31, one day after University of Tennessee chancellor Donde Plowman revealed in a letter to the NCAA that the school's athletic department was being investigated for potential recruiting rules violations.

Judge grants preliminary injunction over NIL rules

A federal judge has barred the NCAA from enforcing its rules prohibiting NIL compensation from being used to recruit athletes, granting a request for a preliminary injunction and dealing another blow to the association's ability to govern college sports.

www.espn.com

 

[upstater]

There is no amateurism. College players will be professionals. Recruits are free agents who are free to go to the highest bidder. Should get interesting.

A federal judge in Tennessee granted a preliminary injunction on Friday afternoon that prohibits the NCAA from punishing any athletes or boosters for negotiating name, image and likeness deals during their recruiting process or while they are in the transfer portal.

NCAA rules prohibit athletes from signing NIL contracts that are designed as inducements to get them to attend a particular school -- one of the few restrictions in place for how athletes can make money. For example, the NCAA recently announced sanctions against Florida State football because a member of its coaching staff connected a prospect with a booster collective that works closely with the Seminoles. The collective made a specific offer to the player, who was considering transferring from his current school to Florida State.

The attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia argued that the NCAA is illegally restricting opportunities for athletes by preventing them from negotiating the terms of NIL deals prior to deciding where they want to go school. The lawsuit was filed Jan. 31, one day after University of Tennessee chancellor Donde Plowman revealed in a letter to the NCAA that the school's athletic department was being investigated for potential recruiting rules violations.

Judge grants preliminary injunction over NIL rules

A federal judge has barred the NCAA from enforcing its rules prohibiting NIL compensation from being used to recruit athletes, granting a request for a preliminary injunction and dealing another blow to the association's ability to govern college sports.

www.espn.com

None of this really makes any sense.

What is to prevent a team from having a player who isn't enrolled in school at all?

Why does the NCAA get to insist that a player must be enrolled in school?

Why are there any restrictions whatsoever?

 

[StllH8L8ner]

Someone fill Husky gym bags full of cash and drop them off at every top 10 2024, 2025, 2026 player’s doorstep.

 

[Fishy]

To summarize: The NCAA, which is essentially just the member schools, made a set of rules. One of the member schools that was part of making the rules violated the rules and then sued to prevent the group that they were a part of from enforcing the rules that they agreed to.

I am terribly impressed by Tennessee.

 

[dennismenace]

Contract law and restraint of trade. This is going to be capitalism at its finest. It should be very interesting to the academic community as well as the general population.

 

[businesslawyer]

To summarize: The NCAA, which is essentially just the member schools, made a set of rules. One of the member schools that was part of making the rules violated the rules and then sued to prevent the group that they were a part of from enforcing the rules that they agreed to.

I am terribly impressed by Tennessee.

Not to go all lawyer on you, but I don't think the universities are the plaintiffs. I think this is about state AGs defending the rights of citizens/residents who happen to be able to extort money from boosters to play at a particular university.

I am in favor of having big time universities paying players. Having third parties pay players is an absurd way to vindicate players rights or to run a university athletic system.

 

[superjohn]

Not to go all lawyer on you, but I don't think the universities are the plaintiffs. I think this is about state AGs defending the rights of citizens/residents who happen to be able to extort money from boosters to play at a particular university.

I am in favor of having big time universities paying players. Having third parties pay players is an absurd way to vindicate players rights or to run a university athletic system.

Universities paying players is an even bigger disaster.

 

[Fan1978]

Not to go all lawyer on you, but I don't think the universities are the plaintiffs. I think this is about state AGs defending the rights of citizens/residents who happen to be able to extort money from boosters to play at a particular university.

I am in favor of having big time universities paying players. Having third parties pay players is an absurd way to vindicate players rights or to run a university athletic system.

The money was always there, nil
Is great for UConn and plsyers so embrace it. The dirty programs can still pay, its just not all or nothing now. Terrible news for Kansas, Kentucky, Duke etc

 

[ec33]

To summarize: The NCAA, which is essentially just the member schools, made a set of rules. One of the member schools that was part of making the rules violated the rules and then sued to prevent the group that they were a part of from enforcing the rules that they agreed to.

I am terribly impressed by Tennessee.

Although I don't see where the (I assume) Vandy alum judge said the NCAA cannot punish the institution or employees of the institution.

 

[huskiesouth]

To summarize: The NCAA, which is essentially just the member schools, made a set of rules. One of the member schools that was part of making the rules violated the rules and then sued to prevent the group that they were a part of from enforcing the rules that they agreed to.

I am terribly impressed by Tennessee.

Anarchy has officially and legally arrived. Soon kids will be changing schools mid-season or mid-week or after the end of the first weekend of the NCAA tournament if their team is eliminated.

 

[How Sway?!]

Universities paying players is an even bigger disaster.

A university has stakeholders they are accountable to, a booster doesn't. Only way this gets regulated is if the university administers the NIL.

 

[businesslawyer]

Universities paying players is an even bigger disaster.

Disagree. But it’s an opinion.

 

[businesslawyer]

Anarchy has officially and legally arrived. Soon kids will be changing schools mid-season or mid-week or after the end of the first weekend of the NCAA tournament if their team is eliminated.

I’m waiting for the first time a player gets pulled in the first half and wants to suit up for the opponent in the second.

 

[huskiesouth]

I’m waiting for the first time a player gets pulled in the first half and wants to suit up for the opponent in the second.

Maybe someone can compose an agreement committing player to complete a game for the team of which he was a member at tip-off, but then again it needs to sustain an appeal

 

[superjohn]

A university has stakeholders they are accountable to, a booster doesn't. Only way this gets regulated is if the university administers the NIL.

It will lead to unionization and it will be the end of college sports other than football and basketball.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

I’m not smart enough to understand all the downstream impacts here so I’ll leave that to the lawyers, but these things punishments always seemed a bit absurd. Every single school is using NIL as an inducement to sign with that school, regardless of what the rules were.

 

[upstater]

Just professionalize the whole thing at this point.

 

[How Sway?!]

It will lead to unionization and it will be the end of college sports other than football and basketball.

Disagree, it'll lead to the regionalization of non revenue sports, something that everyone has been clamering for.

 

[superjohn]

Disagree, it'll lead to the regionalization of non revenue sports, something that everyone has been clamering for.

Most schools won't pay athletes for sports that lose money which is all of them except for football and basketball. It will also open them up to all the other students who will be demanding pay.

 

[How Sway?!]

Most schools won't pay athletes for sports that lose money which is all of them except for football and basketball. It will also open them up to all the other students who will be demanding pay.

The employee question rests on the control a school has over the student. Because a school can require a student athlete to "work" for 20+ hours a week, they are considered employees. The rest of the student body does not fit that equation.

If universities don't want student athletes to be considered employees, they need to lower the control they have on their schedules and one of the best ways to do that is to not ask them to make a cross country trip to play.

 

[superjohn]

The employee question rests on the control a school has over the student. Because a school can require a student athlete to "work" for 20+ hours a week, they are considered employees. The rest of the student body does not fit that equation.

If universities don't want student athletes to be considered employees, they need to lower the control they have on their schedules and one of the best ways to do that is to not ask them to make a cross country trip to play.

Students are "working" 20 hours per week with class, labs, band, theater etc.

 

[How Sway?!]

Students are "working" 20 hours per week with class, labs, band, theater etc.

The school does not have control of whether they show up to class or don't. They don't have control of whether a kid does extra curricular activities. They do for an athlete. If you can't see the difference between the two, then I don't know what else to tell you.

 

[superjohn]

The school does not have control of whether they show up to class or don't. They don't have control of whether a kid does extra curricular activities. They do for an athlete. If you can't see the difference between the two, then I don't know what else to tell you.

Yes they do, they will lose their scholarships if they don't go to the required classes and don't do the work, don't keep up a certain GPA.

 

[huskymedic]

The employee question rests on the control a school has over the student. Because a school can require a student athlete to "work" for 20+ hours a week, they are considered employees. The rest of the student body does not fit that equation.

If universities don't want student athletes to be considered employees, they need to lower the control they have on their schedules and one of the best ways to do that is to not ask them to make a cross country trip to play.

Back to regionalization is a great end game goal for non-revenue sports but FWIW: Travel to and from a site of competition isn’t considered a Countable Athletic Related Activity (which as you note is capped @ 4 hours a day/20 hours per week in season).