• Loading stock data...
Saturday, July 19, 2025

How the NCAA Plans to Stop Employment in Its Tracks After Settlement

  • The NCAA will use the House settlement as a tool to end the debate over athlete employment status.
  • If the NCAA does succeed in getting a law passed saying athletes are amateurs, however, other lawyers will likely challenge it.
Jun 4, 2024; Eugene, OR, USA; A NCAA logo flag at Hayward Field.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

In May, the NCAA and power conferences agreed to settle the House v. NCAA lawsuit—conceding, for the first time in college sports history, to share revenue between schools and players. But now, the NCAA is hoping to use the settlement to end an even bigger debate: whether athletes should be considered school employees.

House v. NCAA, first filed in 2020, argued athletes who couldn’t capitalize on name, image, and likeness deals deserve backpay, and that power conference schools should share revenue with all athletes going forward. As part of the settlement agreement, power conference schools will begin revenue-sharing up to about $22 million per year with athletes.

Because the settlement doesn’t address the athlete employment question, however, it doesn’t protect the NCAA from the three ongoing cases arguing athletes should be considered employees, co-counsel Steve Berman confirmed to Front Office Sports.

The NCAA hopes to resolve this indirectly. Since 2019, the NCAA and power conferences have waged a multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign in Congress to reverse the athletes’ rights movement by granting an antitrust protection (giving the NCAA the power to enforce compensation rules) and by deeming athletes amateurs. The NCAA hopes Congress will see the House settlement as an earnest attempt to make major reforms to college sports—and that Congress should step in so they wouldn’t have to make more. President Charlie Baker and the power conference commissioners even went so far as to call it a “roadmap” for legislation.

As part of the settlement, plaintiff lawyers have agreed to help the NCAA with that lobbying effort—but they likely won’t go as far as the NCAA would like. Berman says he and fellow counsel Jeffrey Kessler would be willing to argue that Congress should grant a limited antitrust exemption to allow the NCAA to cap revenue sharing, for example. But they won’t help the NCAA in its main goal of getting broad antitrust protections and have not agreed to lobby against athlete employment status.

“If the NCAA asks us to, we will express our views to Congress that they should be free from future lawsuits that raise the same issues that were raised in our litigation,” Berman says. “We will not comment on anything beyond that.”

Even if the NCAA succeeds in codifying amateurism without House lawyers’ help, it could still face future challenges. 

One of the attorneys on the Johnson v. NCAA federal court case over athlete employment status, Paul McDonald, tells FOS that he would challenge a law saying college athletes are not employees. He believes it would be unconstitutional, given that non-athlete students are allowed to be employees.

“Any federal legislation to single out college athletes to be denied the same employee status, rights and hourly pay as fellow students in work study-style programs (e.g., student employees in dining halls, libraries—even selling popcorn at NCAA games) would be unconstitutional on Equal Protection grounds,” he says. That’s also the premise of the Johnson v. NCAA case, which argues that Division I athletes should be classified as employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act, and that they should be entitled to hourly minimum wage.

McDonald notes that other lawyers involved in the space would likely consider challenging a law codifying amateurism. “It’s a bridge to nowhere.”

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Ryan Field Construction
exclusive

First Look Inside Northwestern’s $862 Million New Ryan Field

Five big things FOS learned on our exclusive stadium tour.
Jul 13, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announces the pick for the Athletics pick during the MLB Draft at The Coca-Cola Roxy.

Manfred Says MLB Had Wrong Approach to Creators Like Jomboy

“You gotta go where people are going,” the commissioner said.
(NCL_OSU_11_SUGAR_LAURON 04JAN11) Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Terrelle Pryor (2) slips around the Arkansas Razorbacks defense during first half of the Sugar Bowl at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, January 4, 2011.

Terrelle Pryor’s Case for NIL Backpay Dismissed in Court

Pryor played seven years in the NFL after leaving OSU amid a scandal.

Featured Today

Jul 21, 2024; Ayrshire, SCT; Xander Schauffele celebrates with Claret Jug after winning the Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Troon.

The Boozy History and Traditions of The Open’s Claret Jug

The Open awards the world’s most famous wine decanter.
2025 PDC World Darts Championship Final - Luke Littler vs Michael Van Gerwen
July 16, 2025

A Teen Darts Prodigy Is Becoming Bigger Than the Game Itself

Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler is cashing in on his devastatingly accurate shot.
May 31, 2025; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Sydney McLaughin-Levrone (USA) reacts before the women's 100m hurdles during the Grand Slam Track Philadelphia at Franklin Field
exclusive
July 13, 2025

Track’s New Money Is Running Into Old Problems

The sport’s big-money era has hit some speed bumps in 2025.
Bobbleheads are seen at Vintage Indy Sports, Tuesday, April 29, 2025 in Speedway. The local sports memorabilia store opened recently.
July 12, 2025

Baseball’s Bobbleheads Are the Center of the Collectibles Universe

Baseball’s most important keepsake drives long lines—and big business.
Mar 21, 2025; Seattle, WA, USA; Memphis Tigers head coach Penny Hardaway walks off the court after losing to Colorado State Rams at Climate Pledge Arena.

Memphis Basketball and Softball Placed on NCAA Probation

Memphis has had multiple NCAA issues since hiring Penny Hardaway.
July 16, 2025

Alabama’s New Era Contends With NIL—and Nick Saban Rumors

Kalen DeBoer is entering his second season as head coach.
Sep 28, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; GOP Presidential candidate Donald Trump waves flanked by former Georgia Bulldogs player Herschel Walker, recording art Kid Rock, professional golfer John Daily, Alabama senators Tommy Tuberville (R) and Katie Britt (R) during the second half of the game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
July 16, 2025

President Trump Is Actively Working on an NIL-Related Executive Order

It’s unclear what the executive order would include.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Dealmaker Jeffrey Kaplan maps the evolution of sports as an asset class
Texas Head Coach Steve Sarkisian waits to lead his team out of the tunnel ahead of the Longhorns' game against the Baylor Bears, Saturday, Sept. 23 at McLane Stadium in Waco.
July 15, 2025

Is a Texas Takeover About to Hit the SEC, On and Off..

The Longhorns are favored to win the SEC in their second year in the conference.
Georgia takes the field for the first half of the SEC championship game against Texas in Atlanta, on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024.
July 15, 2025

SEC Lands Starring Role in Netflix College Football Docuseries

Netflix brings its sports storytelling to the heart of SEC football.
May 15, 2025; Washington, DC, USA; United States Capitol seen as People rally outside the Supreme Court before justices hears oral arguments in Trump v. CASA, Inc. At issue in the case is if the Supreme Court should stay the district courts' nationwide preliminary injunctions on the Trump administration’s executive order ending birthright citizenship.
July 15, 2025

Pro-NCAA Bill Takes First Step Toward Being Introduced on House Floor for..

It could be the first bill of its kind to make it to the House floor.