- Tennessee AG Jonathan Skrmetti and Virginia AG Jason Miyares filed a lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association alleging that the organization’s restrictions on future student-athletes’ ability to commercially use their name, image, and likeness (NIL) constitute violations of federal antitrust law.
- In the complaint, AGs Skrmetti and Miyares assert that, following the Supreme Court’s 2021 decision in NCAA v. Alston, the NCAA was required to drop its longstanding prohibitions on college athletes earning money from their NIL. However, the AGs allege that the NCAA is now thwarting the ability of student-athletes to get fair compensation for their NIL by banning prospective college athletes and potential transfer athletes from discussing NIL opportunities before enrolling at an institution.
- The AGs assert that the NIL recruiting restriction is not the only post-Alston attempt to restrict the market, pointing to another recent AG lawsuit attacking the NCAA’s Transfer Eligibility Rule, which we previously covered.
- The lawsuit seeks a declaration that the NCAA’s new NIL restriction violates the Sherman Act, injunctive relief, and costs and fees, among other relief.