The House v. NCAA settlement sometimes relies on roundabout wording and dense jargon, but its future could turn on two blunt principles: a deal is a deal, and a judge can’t change a deal.
Those simple statements are crucial to the NCAA’s interpretation of the House settlement’s language regarding “associated entities.” U.S. Magistrate Judge and House settlement administrator Nathanael Cousins will review this term during a hearing on May 27, and his decision could change the trajectory of NIL deals.
As Sportico explained, class counsel Steve Berman and Jeffrey Kessler assert multimedia rights companies including Learfield, Playfly Sports and JMI Sports—and third-party brand sponsors including banks, apparel companies, airlines and car dealerships—aren’t associated entities.
That’s an important assertion.
As approved by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken, the House settlement defines an associated entity as one “closely affiliated with an NCAA member school for the purpose of promoting the school’s athletics program or its student-athlete” and one that’s “been directed or requested by a Member Institution’s athletics department staff to assist in the recruitment or retention of prospective or current student-athletes.”
