Lawyers in NCAA Athlete Pay Settlement Request $515 Million in Legal Fees.
Attorneys representing the plaintiffs in a proposed multi-billion-dollar settlement concerning three antitrust cases related to athlete compensation against the NCAA and the Power Five conferences have requested a federal judge to grant them nearly $525 million in legal fees and expenses, as indicated in filings submitted on Tuesday.
Furthermore, in accordance with the proposed settlement agreement, the plaintiffs’ legal team has sought the authority to petition a judge or special master annually for additional funds, which could amount to approximately $250 million, as stated in the filings. The majority of the funds from both requests are intended to be disbursed over a decade from various settlement pools.
The plaintiffs are primarily represented by Steve Berman of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP and Jeff Kessler of Winston & Strawn LLP. These documents were filed just over two months after U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken granted preliminary approval for the comprehensive agreement, which aims to significantly alter the landscape of college athletics. In addition to establishing a $2.8 billion damages fund for current and former athletes over a ten-year period, the agreement would permit Division I institutions to compensate athletes in any sport directly for the use of their name, image, and likeness, with a per-school cap that is set to increase over time. The anticipated initial cap amount is projected to be between $20 million and $23 million for the 2025-26 academic year.
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As part of the agreement, Division I athletic programs that offer NIL payments will no longer be constrained by the traditional scholarship limits that vary by sport; instead, they will adhere to roster limits specific to each sport. For instance, in the first academic year following the final approval of the settlement, the roster limit for football will be set at 105 players.
Recent data from USA TODAY Sports, obtained through open-records requests, indicates that many Power Five institutions have maintained rosters exceeding 125 players. The plaintiffs’ attorneys are also pursuing an additional $250 million, which stems from a clause in the settlement agreement permitting them to claim between 0.75% and 1.25% of the total annual expenditures by Division I schools on NIL agreements with athletes.
This includes new scholarships and academic achievement awards that emerged after the Supreme Court’s decision in the Alston case in June 2021, which lifted NCAA restrictions on education-related benefits for athletes. If all 68 schools within the Power Four conferences were to allocate $20 million in a single year, this would total approximately $1.36 billion, not accounting for any additional Division I institutions that may also provide benefits, as some outside the Power Four are expected to do. All of these developments are contingent upon the final approval of Judge Wilken, who has scheduled a hearing for April 7, 2025, in Oakland, California. Her ruling will also be subject to appeal.
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The proposed multi-billion-dollar NCAA athlete compensation settlement continues to evolve, with plaintiffs’ attorneys seeking significant legal fees. Their request for $525 million in fees, along with the potential for up to $250 million annually in additional funds, underscores the scale of the case and its implications for college athletics. With the settlement aiming to reform NIL payments, roster limits, and athlete compensation, the final approval from U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken in 2025 will be a pivotal moment. As the case progresses, the outcome could fundamentally reshape how athletes are compensated and how NCAA institutions manage their financial resources.