The judge overseeing the sprawling $2.8 billion antitrust lawsuit settlement involving the NCAA and the nation’s five largest conferences delayed final approval of the plan Wednesday until it is modified to address concerns about roster limits.
U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken signaled she is ready to approve the rest of the settlement but wants both sides to come up with a way to not harm current athletes who will lose their spots on teams. The settlement calls for scholarship limits to be replaced by roster limits.
“With the exception of the immediate implementation of the roster limits provisions that will cause harm to certain members of the Injunctive Relief Settlement Class … the Court tentatively finds that it can grant final approval of the remainder of the settlement agreement as fair, reasonable, and adequate,” Wilken wrote in her five-page order.
In football, for example, rosters would be capped at 105 players beginning this season. The average roster was 128 players last year.
Attorneys who hashed out the settlement proposed last year reacted with cautious optimism.
“We appreciate the court’s guidance and thoughtful review of this monumental case,” plaintiffs attorney Steve Berman said. “We are pleased that the court has rejected all of the objections but the roster issue, and we will work hard to convince the NCAA and the conferences to address the court’s concerns. If we are unable to do so, then we are off to trial and we will return to fighting the NCAA in court with next steps.”
