Injunction granted in Tennessee vs. NCAA as court freezes NIL rules
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A federal judge on Friday suspended NCAA rules on name, image and likeness benefits for athletes, dealing a serious blow to the college sports governing body’s enforcement powers and easing the stress of the University of Tennessee amid an NCAA investigation.
It’s a victory for the attorneys general in Tennessee and Virginia in their lawsuit against the NCAA and, potentially, for UT in its fierce fight with the NCAA over NIL rules. The preliminary injunction granted in the Eastern Tennessee District by Judge Clifton Corker found that NIL rules caused irreparable damage to athletes.
The decision applies while until the court case plays out. And the ruling covers the entire country, preventing the NCAA from enforcing its NIL rules against any school and giving student-athletes latitude on signing deals.
“(W)ithout the give and take of a free market, student-athletes simply have no knowledge of their true NIL value,” Corker wrote. “It is this suppression of negotiating leverage and the consequential lack of knowledge that harms student-athletes.”
Corker took issue with the NCAA’s strategy to prevent recruiting inducements, including the association’s attempt to classify NIL collectives, which raise and distribute money, as boosters.
“The NCAA’s prohibition likely violates federal antitrust law and harms student-athletes,” Corker wrote in his ruling.
The decision could have a seismic impact on college sports, as the NCAA’s rules banning NIL recruiting inducements are frozen for more than 523,000 athletes at 1,088 institutions.
College recruits and transfers can now negotiate and sign NIL contracts before enrolling at a university with no fear of breaking NCAA rules. Or, at least, they can until the case concludes, likely months from now.
But considering the NCAA already was under scrutiny involving antitrust laws, some NIL rules could be off the books permanently.
Tennessee attorney general: ‘NCAA is not above the law’
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti celebrated the initial win while promising a prolonged fight in the lawsuit.
“The court’s grant of a preliminary injunction against the NCAA’s illegal NIL-recruitment ban ensures the rights of student-athletes will be protected for the duration of this case, but the bigger fight continues,” Skrmetti said in a statement. “We will litigate this case to the fullest extent necessary to ensure the NCAA’s monopoly cannot continue to harm Tennessee student-athletes.
“The NCAA is not above the law, and the law is on our side.”
The states argued that NIL rules had to be suspended immediately because recruits are losing leverage without the ability to negotiate their fair market value in the NIL space and that UT’s reputation is stained by the NCAA’s unfair investigation focused on NIL rules enforcement.
“If UT is punished with bowl bans or players sitting out games, that is irreparable harm. But the threat of irreparable harm is also harm,” Cam Norris, a lawyer arguing on the states, told the…
Read More: Injunction granted in Tennessee vs. NCAA as court freezes NIL rules 2024-02-23 22:18:45