Attorneys for plaintiffs in a federal antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA that is not part of a recent $2.78 billion settlement agreement filed a motion Friday asking a judge to deny preliminary approval of the deal.
Attorneys in Fontenot v. the NCAA, which was filed in a Colorado district court, say the settlement of three antitrust lawsuits facing the association and five major conferences amounts to a deal for “just pennies on the dollar.”
The NCAA, Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and Southeastern Conference agreed in May to pay billions of dollars in damages to current and former college athletes who have been denied the ability to earn money from their names, images and likenesses dating back to 2016.
A preliminary approval hearing is scheduled before U.S. Judge Claudia Wilken in the Northern District of California for Sept. 5.
Former Colorado football player Alex Fontenot filed his lawsuit in November, alleging that NCAA rules have illegally prevented college athletes from earning their fair share of the millions of dollars in revenue the schools generate.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the House case requested that Fontenot v. NCAA be joined with the California cases that are part of the settlement, but a Colorado judge denied the request in May.
The agreement also includes a plan to allow schools to implement a revenue-sharing system with athletes and to increase the number of scholarships schools could award (though they would not be required to) in most Division I sports. Scholarship limits would be replaced by caps on player rosters.
Earlier this week, attorneys representing Fontenot filed another lawsuit against the NCAA on behalf of a former college baseball player.
Former TCU player Riley Cornelio claims scholarship limits allowed the NCAA and conferences to set salaries. The lawsuit seeks class-action status.
