Courts approve $2.8 billion settlement with NCAA over student-athlete compensation

Late last week, a U.S. judge approved a $2.8 billion settlement with the NCAA that will allow institutions to compensate student-athletes for NIL commercial use from past, present, and future opportunities.

U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken in the Oakland, California, federal court, resolved the long-running litigation between the NCAA and student-athletes on fair compensation.

A recent article from MSN.com detailed the judge’s decision and what it means for NCAA student-athletes. Below is an excerpt from the MSN.com story.

“Despite some compromises, the settlement agreement nevertheless will result in extraordinary relief for members of the settlement classes,” Wilken wrote. She added the deal will “permit levels and types of student-athlete compensation that have never been permitted in the history of college sports.”

The ruling marked a “historic day for college sports and the rights of athletes,” the lead attorneys for the plaintiffs, Steve Berman and Jeffrey Kessler, said in a statement.

The NCAA, which has denied any wrongdoing, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The deal faced dozens of objections that it didn’t adequately compensate athletes or was unfair in other ways. Objectors to the deal now can appeal to the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

» ALSO SEE: Texas high school reinstates legendary swim coach for boys’ team, but not girls

The settlement, covering hundreds of thousands of current and former students since 2016, resolved three lawsuits that claimed NCAA rules barring payments to athletes violated U.S. antitrust law. The $2.8 billion will cover past damages.

The plaintiffs’ lawyers previously estimated that the deal would provide tens of billions of dollars to class members over the next 10 years. Schools will be allowed to pay athletes from funds that universities receive from broadcasts and other commercial sources.

To read the full story from MSN.com, click here.