Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti joined Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares in filing an antitrust lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) on Wednesday.
Today, @AGTennessee, along with @JasonMiyaresVA, sued the NCAA for violating federal antitrust laws with its anticompetitive restrictions on the ability of current and future student-athletes to benefit from their name, image, and likeness rights.
➡️https://t.co/R0xbKKsjlJ pic.twitter.com/WZglg9WqCT
— TN Attorney General (@AGTennessee) January 31, 2024
The lawsuit alleges the NCAA violates federal antitrust laws with its “anticompetitive restrictions on the ability of current and future student-athletes to benefit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL).”
The NCAA currently prohibits prospective student-athletes from discussing potential NIL opportunities with schools and collectives prior to enrolling. The current rule specifically prohibits student-athletes from negotiating with collectives; reviewing NIL offers prior to making enrollment decisions; and adequately considering the full scope of NIL-related services a school might offer upon enrollment.
“After the Supreme Court ruled that the NCAA violated antitrust law by imposing unreasonable restraints on the compensation college athletes may receive, Tennessee and other states enacted laws to foster a thriving NIL market for the benefit of student-athletes. Contrary to those state laws, the NCAA has adopted a shifting and opaque series of rules and guidelines that thwart the ability of student-athletes to get fair compensation for their NIL,” Skrmetti’s office explains.
Skrmetti and Miyares argue such restrictions “violate the Sherman Act, harm current and future student-athletes as well as the State, and should be enjoined.”
“Student-athletes are entitled to rules that are clear and rules that are fair,” Skrmetti said in a statement. “College sports wouldn’t exist without college athletes, and those students shouldn’t be left behind while everybody else involved prospers. The NCAA’s restraints on prospective students’ ability to meaningfully negotiate NIL deals violate federal antitrust law. Only Congress has the power to impose such limits.”
The attorneys general are requesting that the court bar the NCAA from enforcing its NIL-recruiting ban or “taking any other action to prevent prospective college athletes and transfer candidates from engaging in meaningful NIL discussions prior to enrollment, including under the NCAA’s Rule of Restitution” until the case is decided.
Danny White, the athletic director for the Tennessee Volunteers, applauded Skrmetti’s lawsuit against the NCAA, writing on X, “I appreciate the action of Tennessee AG Jonathan Skrmetti for standing up for the rights of student-athletes. At Tennessee, we are always going to work to support our student-athletes’ rights and give them all the tools needed to succeed on and off the field. This is what strong leadership looks like!”
Governor Bill Lee also commented on the lawsuit, saying, “It’s time for the NCAA to establish clear rules in the interest of student athletes, rather than try to retroactively enforce ever-changing name, image, and likeness guidance.”
Randy Boyd, the president of the University of Tennessee, also applauded Skrmetti’s efforts, saying the lawsuit is “championing the rights of student-athletes across the nation.”
Tennessee’s Skrmetti is also a plaintiff in an antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA’s Transfer Eligibility Rule, which requires Division I athletes who transfer a second time to wait one year to compete.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “NCAA College Basketball” by NCAA.
