We could soon see major changes coming to the NCAA after a federal judge ruled that the sports organization must temporarily suspend their restrictions on athletes negotiating name, image, and likeness deals during the recruiting process or the transfer portal.
“Defendant NCAA; its servants, agents, and employees; and all persons in active concert or participation with the NCAA, are restrained and enjoined from enforcing the NCAA Interim NIL Policy, the NCAA Bylaws, or any other authority to the extent such authority prohibits student-athletes from negotiating compensation for NIL..”
Judge ruling on NCAA/NIL restrictions
NCAA court order applies to athletes in all 50 states
This latest court order is effective immediately and it applies to all athletes in all states. However, it’s important to note that this is just a temporary suspension and not a final ruling.
Either way, now recruits will have more flexibility to sign NIL deals without having to worry about facing problems from the NCAA later.
“The NCAA’s prohibition likely violates federal antitrust law and harms student-athletes,” Corker wrote in his decision.
Judge Clifton L. Corker
Obviously, this is a significant hurdle for the NCAA to overcome after they previously attempted to prevent programs from using NIL deals to entice athletes to sign with their school. We’ll see what kind of impact it has across the sports landscape in the months and years to come.
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