Sources: NCAA could pay $2.7B in antitrust suits
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Dan Murphy
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Dan Murphy
ESPN Staff Writer
- Covers the Big Ten
- Joined ESPN.com in 2014
- Graduate of the University of Notre Dame
The NCAA’s national office might be footing the bill for a settlement expected to be more than $2.7 billion in the landmark House v. NCAA lawsuit and other related antitrust cases, in hopes of reshaping and stabilizing the college sports industry, according to multiple sources on Thursday.
Sources told ESPN this week that parties have proposed the NCAA’s national office — rather than its individual member schools or conferences — would pay for the settlement of past damages over a period of 10 years. The NCAA payments would be paid to former college athletes who say they were illegally prevented from making money by selling the rights to their name, image and likeness.
The settlement would come with a corresponding commitment from conferences and schools to share revenue with athletes moving forward, per sources. The settlement would establish a framework for power conferences to share revenue with their athletes in the future. Sources have told ESPN that schools are anticipating a ceiling of nearly $20 million per year for athlete revenue share moving forward. (That figure for a revenue share is derived from a formula that’s expected to be, per sources, 22% of a revenue metric that’s still being discussed, which is set to be based on various revenue buckets. It would be up to the schools to share that much.)
The dollar value and timing, sources cautioned, is not yet set and could change due to the myriad variables involved in the case.
Steve Berman, co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs, told ESPN he believes the House case is “the difference-maker” after more than a decade of legal battles chipping away at the NCAA’s rules. Berman declined to comment on the specifics of the ongoing settlement talks, but said the plaintiffs’ leverage is growing as the case moves closer to trial.
“Our leverage is a big cannonball rolling down a hill and picking up speed,” Berman said. “The longer they wait, the more they’re going to have to pay. It’s that simple.”
The NCAA declined to comment.
Since a cadre of collegiate sports and NCAA officials met plaintiffs’ attorneys at the Hyatt Regency at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport on April 25, the details for potentially settling the House case have begun to be distributed to campuses. After interviews with more than a dozen college officials, industry sources and lawyers this week, ESPN has learned that many crucial details for a settlement remain unsolved, but both sides are making progress toward a deal that could serve as a catalyst for the new business model of college sports.
“They’ve got stuff on paper,” said an industry source. “This is not just lawyers and commissioners meeting and having a cocktail. This snowball is moving downhill. The horizon on this is about a month.”
Plaintiffs in the House case argue that the NCAA is breaking the law by placing any restrictions on how athletes monetize their name, image and likeness. The case is scheduled to go to trial in January 2025. If the NCAA loses the case at trial, it could owe athletes more than $4 billion in damages.
Along with saving money, the NCAA is also motivated to settle in hopes of laying the groundwork for a system that could help them avoid future litigation. A settlement alone might not provide that protection without additional help from Congress or a collective bargaining agreement with athletes.
The NCAA and its conferences are defendants in at least two other federal antitrust cases that are challenging what remains of the association’s amateurism rules. Those outstanding cases would also likely be resolved as part of the House settlement.
Earlier this month, the plaintiffs filed a motion for summary judgment, which asks the judge in the case to rule on several key arguments prior to trial. The hearing for summary judgment is scheduled for September, and a ruling in the plaintiffs’ favor could continue to increase their leverage in a negotiation.
One of the outstanding issues in the potential settlement of the House case is whether or not a settlement would eliminate future antitrust lawsuits against the NCAA and its schools.
“I’m very concerned about the fact that a settlement is really not a settlement,” an industry source told ESPN concerning looming issues that need to be resolved before settling. “It doesn’t have enough protections. If it were an all-encompassing settlement with congressional approval, I’d feel a lot better.”
College sports leaders have been asking Congress to write a new federal law for several years that would, among other things, protect them from future litigation.
Sources told ESPN that some school officials are hoping that a House settlement could spur action on Capitol Hill. Several members of Congress who have worked on college sports-related legislation in recent years declined to comment on what impact a settlement might have on the creation of a new federal law.
As information has been brought back to campuses, the biggest concern is how protective the settlement would be from future antitrust lawsuits.
“You can’t just settle the lawsuits,” said another industry source. “You’ve got to be able to emerge with something in return, other than the settlement. If you don’t have the requisite ability to structure the future. All we’re going to do is shake hands and wait five minutes for the next filing. You don’t want to be waiting for the next lawsuit here.”
Ohio State will host Navy in the 2029 season opener for both teams, the schools announced Wednesday.
The Sept. 1, 2029, game will be the first meeting between the teams since 2014 and the sixth overall in the series. The Buckeyes have won all five previous matchups.
The game was one of three changes Ohio State made to future nonconference schedules that will affect the 2029 and 2030 seasons. To add the Navy game, Ohio State and Nevada agreed to move their previously scheduled game on that date to Sept. 7, 2030.
Ohio State also added a nonconference game against Youngstown State, which will be played at Ohio Stadium on Sept. 15, 2029. The Buckeyes have one nonconference game to fill out their schedule over the next five years: the season opener on Aug. 31, 2030.
In the 2014 matchup, a 34-17 Ohio State win in Baltimore, Navy trailed 20-17 in the fourth quarter before Ezekiel Elliott scored on a 10-yard touchdown run to put the Buckeyes up 10 and Michael Thomas scored on a 9-yard touchdown pass from J.T. Barrett that put the game away.
Ohio State would go on to post a 14-1 record and defeat Oregon 42-20 in the Rose Bowl to win the College Football Playoff.
Villanova football will leave the Coastal Athletic Association following this season and join the Patriot League in 2026, the conferences announced Thursday.
The Wildcats are the third team to join the Patriot League as football associate members since May 2024, joining former conference rivals Richmond and William & Mary.
“The addition of Villanova as our tenth football member represents a significant and exciting moment for the Patriot League,” Patriot League commissioner Jennifer Heppel said in a statement. “Villanova has consistently demonstrated excellence on the field, establishing itself as a premier FCS football program while also upholding a strong commitment to academic achievement. Combined with the recent additions of Richmond and William & Mary and the continued strength of our current members, this expansion solidifies the Patriot League’s standing as one of the strongest in the FCS.”
Villanova will join Patriot League charter members Bucknell, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette and Lehigh, along with associate members Fordham, Georgetown, Richmond and William & Mary.
CAA Commissioner Joe D’Antonio said Villanova’s move is “disappointing,” but “has become an unfortunate part of the landscape of college athletics during a period of unprecedented change.”
“The administrators, coaches and student-athletes in the CAA remain committed to competing at the highest level of FCS football, achieving multiple playoff bids on a yearly basis and contending for national championships,” D’Antonio said in a statement. “The CAA has a long history of excellence in FCS football and the desire to build on that tradition has never been stronger.”
The Patriot League will continue to feature a full conference schedule to determine the league champion and automatic bid to the NCAA DI FCS Championship when the conference expands to 10 teams in 2026.
With the expanded membership beginning in 2026, eight of the 10 programs have finished ranked in the Stats Perform and AFCA FCS Coaches Poll since 2015. During that span, the 10 programs have combined to win 17 games in the FCS Playoffs, advancing to the quarterfinal round eight times, including two apiece by Colgate, Richmond and Villanova. Holy Cross and William & Mary have both advanced to the quarterfinals once.
“We are excited to join a conference where the member institutions share similar values, both athletically and academically,” Villanova coach Mark Ferrante said in a statement. “The geographic alignment makes sense for our program and our student-athletes, and we believe this move will foster strong regional rivalries while maintaining our commitment to excellence on and off the field. It’s a natural fit that positions us well for the future.”
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