College Athlete Compensation $2.8 Billion Settlement

If you were a Division I college athlete between 2016 and 2024, you may be eligible to claim compensation from a class action settlement.

The NCAA and Power Five Conferences have agreed to pay $2,576,000,000 to settle a class action lawsuit for allegedly limiting compensation and scholarships available to college athletes and for allegedly conspiring not to pay college athletes Academic Achievement (Alston) awards.

This settlement not only provides financial compensation but also mandates changes to NCAA compensation rules in the future.

Who are the class members?

The settlement is divided into two classes, the Hubbard Class and the the House Class, which is further divided into subclasses.

• House Class (athletic compensation)
• Settlement Football and Men's Basketball Class: Athletes who received a full Grant-in-Aid scholarship and competed on a Division I men's basketball or FBS football team at a Power Five Conference school between June 15, 2016, and September 15, 2024.
• Settlement Women's Basketball Class: Athletes who received a full Grant-in-Aid scholarship and competed on a Division I women's basketball team at a Power Five Conference school during the same period.
• Settlement Additional Sports Class: Any Division I athlete who competed and was declared initially eligible for competition in Division I between June 15, 2016, and September 15, 2024.
• Settlement Declaratory and Injunctive Relief Class: Athletes who competed on a Division I athletic team at any time between June 15, 2020, and the end of the Injunctive Relief Settlement Term, which is defined as the ten academic years following the date of final approval of the settlement.

• Hubbard Class (academic compensation)
• Athletes who competed on a Division I athletic team between April 1, 2019, and September 15, 2024 and would have met the requirements for receiving an Academic Achievement (Alston) Award based on the criteria established by their respective schools.

Athletes are not part of the settlement if they released your claims and participated in the In re NCAA Grant-in-Aid Cap Antitrust Litigation.

How much can class members get?

The amount each class member can receive depends on their class, subclass, and several factors.

House Class (athletic compensation)

Payments will be distributed based on several factors, including the sport, years played, and conference.

• Broadcast NIL payments: These are set yearly amounts based on the sport and conference.
• Videogame NIL payments: Yearly amounts are based on estimated revenue from hypothetical videogame sales.
• Additional compensation: Payments are based on years competed, sport, and school. For athletes in Power Five Football or Basketball, additional factors such as scholarship type and performance statistics are considered.
• Lost NIL payments: These are based on third-party NIL deals after July 1, 2021.

Payments will be distributed equally over ten years. The exact amount each athlete receives will depend on the number of claims filed and the court-approved costs and fees.

Hubbard Class (academic compensation)

The settlement fund of $200 million will be distributed among eligible class members who competed between 2019 and 2022.

The amount each class member receives will depend on several factors:

• The number of academic years you would have qualified for an Academic Achievement award.
• The number of claims filed.
• The amount of money approved by the Court for costs, fees, and awards.

Payments will be made on a pro rata basis, meaning the total settlement amount will be divided among all eligible claimants based on the number of valid claims submitted.

For example, if 10,000 eligible claims are filed, and the net settlement fund after costs and fees is $160,000,000, each claimant would receive $16,000.

How athletes can claim compensation

To claim an award, athletes must visit the online claim portal to either update their address or file a claim, depending on which class and/or subclass they are in.

If you competed between 2019 and 2022 on a Division I team in a Power Five Conference or on a Division I Basketball team in the Big East Conference, you must update your contact information and preferred payment method.

If you competed on any other team, you must submit a Claim Form and submit additional information by mail or online by January 31, 2025.

Important dates

• Deadline to File a Claim: January 31, 2025
• Final Approval Hearing: April 7, 2025

When is the College Athlete Compensation Settlement payout date?

The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing on April 7, 2025, to decide whether to approve the settlement. If approved, payments will be distributed annually over a ten-year period, beginning after the final approval of the settlement.