US Justice Department questions NCAA athlete payouts Via Reuters

Posted by Mike Scarcella

(Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department on Friday questioned the fairness of a $2.8 billion privatization deal with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, suggesting it may not go far enough to pay athletes. of students.

The Biden administration expressed its views in a filing in federal court in Oakland, California, where the NCAA has been litigated by class-action lawsuits by students for years.

The settlement, which requires court approval, would be one of the largest ever reinstated by a team and allows NCAA member schools to pay student-athletes directly for the first time. .

In addition to the $2.8 billion liquidation fund, the educational institutions are expected to pay about $20 billion over the next decade under the terms of the agreement.

Justice Department antitrust officials said in their report that they are concerned about the provision of the 10-year agreement that provides money available for schools to pay athletes.

The announcement said, “while the proposed agreement allows for some relief, it still acts as an artificial price on what free market competition can produce.”

It urged the court to reject the settlement or seek language clarifying that the cap does not prevent or apply to potential future cases.

The NCAA said in a statement that “the settlement reached on behalf of hundreds of thousands of student-athletes is consistent with antitrust law and will create a new era in college sports.”

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Ministry of Justice is not involved in the case. The NCAA denied wrongdoing by agreeing to the settlement.

In a statement, the plaintiffs’ lead attorney, Steve Berman, defended the decision and said its terms and conditions were clear.

Berman said failure to grant the permit “could cost billions of dollars to student-athletes.”

US District Judge Claudia Wilken will review the final approval of the settlement in April.

The case is In re College Athlete NIL Litigation, US District Court, Northern District of California, No. 4:20-cv-03919-CW.

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