WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia is joining an anti-trust lawsuit against the NCAA alleging rules governing Name Image and Likeness (NIL) unfairly restrict how student athletes can use NIL during the recruiting process.
The lawsuit, filed by Virginia and Tennessee in January, alleges NCAA guidelines to prohibit recruits and transfer portal athletes from negotiating their NIL deals prior to committing to a school violate the Sherman Act and harm the states and the welfare of their student-athletes.
“The NCAA’s restrictions on how prospective and current college athletes can benefit from potential business opportunities are anticompetitive and illegal,” DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb posted on X Wednesday afternoon. “So, alongside TN, NY, FL, and VA, we’re suing to protect college athletes in DC and across the country.”
The lawsuit centered around an NCAA investigation into a quarterback named Nico Iamaleava, who was flown in for a recruiting visit to the University of Tennessee on a private plane paid for by boosters. Iamaleava later signed with Tennessee, leading to an NCAA investigation into the player receiving impermissible NIL benefits before he was enrolled in the school.
In February, the Eastern District Court of Tennessee granted the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction. The decision allows booster-funded NIL collectives to communicate with high school recruits and transfer portal players before making commitments and enrolling, and could be another landmark case in NIL landscape.
The U.S. Department of Justice and four states signed on to a lawsuit in the Northern District of West Virginia District Court challenging the NCAA’s transfer eligibility rule in January.
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