OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) 鈥 The landmark $2.8 billion settlement that will impact every corner of college athletics in the months ahead got its final hearing Monday, including athletes who criticized the sprawling plan as confusing and one that undervalued them and attorneys who said they were concerned about the impacts on campuses across the country.
U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken gave no indication Monday the complaints have changed her mind, setting the table for the plan to move forward.
Wilken already has of the settlement involving the NCAA and the nation鈥檚 five largest conferences. Barring any changes, the plan will take effect July 1 and clear the way for each school to share up to $20.5 million each with their athletes every year. Wilken's formal decision is expected later this month.
The settlement hashed out last year by attorneys for the defendants and those representing thousands of current and former athletes and they had the floor before Wilken. Smaller schools say it will leave them behind deep-pocketed, donor-heavy programs and the proposed guidelines are not expected to slow the massive spending now common across college sports.
LSU gymnast and millionaire influencer Olivia Dunne was one of four athletes to testify against the settlement. Three represented Olympic, non-revenue sports and Benjamin Burr-Kirven was from a big-money sport as a former star linebacker at Washington.
Dunne said the settlement should not be approved. She specifically objected to the formula used to set an athlete's name, image and likeness value, arguing that hers was estimated too low. In testimony over a Zoom video call, Dunne described herself as 鈥渁 Division I athlete, a businesswoman, and I've been the highest-earning female athlete since the NIL rules changed.鈥
She said the settlement hardly acknowledges her true value and potential earning power.
鈥淭his settlement uses old logic to calculate modern value,鈥 Dunne said. 鈥淚t takes a narrow snapshot of a still maturing market and freezes it, ignoring the trajectory we were on and the deals we lost and the future we could have had.鈥
Burr-Kirven, who went on to a brief NFL career before a devastating leg injury, also questioned the errors in establishing an athletes' NIL value.
鈥淚t's within the specific allocation that things get real squirrely," he said. "I was a fairly decorated football player and I'm getting paid the same as walk-ons I played with and then there are kids who I played with who were rotational players who are getting five times as much.鈥
Wilken listened and occasionally asked questions, but gave no indication that the concerns would upend the settlement, which also calls for The effect would be to allow every athlete to be eligible for a scholarship while cutting the number of spots available 鈥 a proposal that Wilken indicated could be phased in initially.
There will be winners and losers under such a formula, though some fear it could signal the end of the walk-on athlete in college sports and also imperil smaller sports programs that feed the U.S. Olympic teams.
Steven Molo, an attorney for a group of athletes objecting to the plan, told the judge that roster limits would unnecessarily limit opportunities. He noted that football teams would be capped at 105 players. The average roster size in 2024 was 128.
鈥淚n a free market,鈥 Molo said, 鈥渁 team should be able to have as many players as they want.鈥
Wilken said she understands athletes not chosen to make a roster would be disappointed but that limiting the number of athletes on a team is a matter of fairness.
鈥淚t could give some sort of competitive advantage if you get to have 50 people running around and sub them in every couple minutes,鈥 she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a different scenario than someone who鈥檚 got 25 people.鈥
Later in the hearing, she told another attorney who was arguing that roster limits are unfair: 鈥淚t鈥檚 not an antitrust violation. It may be bad. It鈥檚 unfortunate. I鈥檓 sorry it鈥檚 happening. I don鈥檛 see how it鈥檚 relevant to this case.鈥
The so-called House settlement, named after Arizona State swimmer Grant House, includes three similar lawsuits that were bundled into one. The defendants are the NCAA and the Southeastern, Big Ten, Atlantic Coast, Big 12 and Pac-12 conferences, all of whom have been touting the settlement as the best path forward for a college athletics landscape in turmoil even as they continue to seek limited antitrust protections from Congress to stave off even more legal challenges.
Universities across the country have been busy making plans under the assumption Wilken will put the terms into effect.
The most ground-shifting part of the settlement allows schools to pay 22% of their revenue from media rights, ticket sales and sponsorships 鈥 which equals about $20.5 million in the first year 鈥 directly to athletes for use of their name, images and likeness. NIL payments to athletes from outside sources would still be allowed.
The settlement calls for a clearinghouse to make sure any NIL deal worth more than $600 is pegged at fair market value, which has appeared to be a challenging set of numbers to settle on. This is an attempt to prevent straight 鈥減ay for play鈥 deals, though many critics believe the entire new structure is simply NIL masquerading as that.
Overall, the plan would pay more than $2.5 billion in back damages to athletes who played sports between 2016 and 2024 and were not entitled to the full benefits of NIL at the time they attended schools. Those payments are being calculated by a formula that will favor football and basketball players and will be
Plaintiffs鈥 counsel Jeffrey Kessler told the judge that 88,104 college athletes have filed claims to participate in the settlement and another 30,775 have indicated they will file claims.
TCU basketball player Sedona Prince, a primary plaintiff in the case, said there are necessary adjustments to the settlement to be made, but she said she trusts Wilken鈥檚 leadership.
鈥淚 know she has the athletes鈥 best interests in mind, always,鈥 Prince said during a break in the hearing. 鈥淪he obviously is touched by the athletes that have been here and spoken today. I鈥檓 confident that we鈥檒l reach a settlement. Obviously there are many more things people have brought up here that we need to address and talk about and fix. It鈥檚 the first step to a very long road of change and the beginning of a new industry.鈥
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AP College Football Writer Eric Olson contributed. Pells reported from San Antonio.
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