Attorneys making clarifications to $2.78B settlement of NCAA antitrust cases

Attorneys negotiating a $2.78B settlement of antitrust cases against the NCAA are “working to clarify parts of the agreement that a judge wanted addressed before deciding whether to let the landmark deal move forward," according to Ralph Russo of the AP. At a hearing two weeks ago, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken declined to grant preliminary approval and "expressed dismay with a plan to regulate and potentially restrict" third-party NIL payments to athletes from booster-funded collectives. Wilken set a Sept. 26 deadline for attorneys on both sides to "report back to her with certain parts of the settlement agreement reworked." Lead plaintiffs attorney Jeffrey Kessler said they have been "making good progress in our discussions with the NCAA" and "feel confident that when we provide all this information, the judge will grant preliminary approval.” Steve Berman, the other lead attorney for the plaintiffs, "declined to provide details of how Wilken’s questions are being addressed,” but suggested that there “won’t be substantive changes.” Berman said that there is "concern that if the judge is not satisfied and the only option is to remove these proposed restrictions, it could be a dealbreaker.” Russo notes it is "unclear when Wilken will rule on the request for preliminary approval after she gets responses to her questions by late next week" ( AP, 9/17 ).