Athletes in $2.8B college lawsuit tell judge they want to create players’ association

The athletes whose lawsuit against the Indianapolis-based NCAA is primed to pave the way for schools to pay them directly also want a players’ association to represent them in the complex contract negotiations that have overtaken the sport.

Grant House, Sedona Prince and Nya Harrison wrote to the judge overseeing what’s known as the House settlement, saying that although they are generally happy with the terms of the proposed settlement “there still remains a critical need for structural changes to protect athletes and prevent the failures of the past.”

That, they said, would be a players’ association, which they believe will help their voices be better heard as the NCAA and its schools move toward a system to share hundreds of millions in TV and ticket revenue with players.

The players said an association would help standardize name-image-likeness, or NIL, contracts to establish minimum payments and health protections “and to create an ecosystem where athletes can thrive.”

“While professional leagues include athletes in these decisions through their respective players’ associations, the college system continues to prevent our players’ association from representing us at the decision-making tables,” the letter said.

The settlement, with a price tag of $2.8 billion that will be distributed over the next 10 years to players both past and present, does not address whether athletes should be considered employees of the schools. That’s an issue the NCAA is asking Congress to prevent for fear the costs could wreck college sports.

The NCAA did not immediately respond to a message from The Associated Press seeking comment Tuesday.

Earlier this year, the head of the National College Players Association confirmed that a licensing organization that works with the NFL Players’ Association had emailed thousands of college football players, encouraging them to join the NCPA. Separately, the chairman of another group trying to organize college athletes, athletes.org, said it already had some 4,000 members. The players who wrote the letter said they wanted to work with athletes.org.

A hearing to approve the settlement is set for April 7. The request could shape how U.S. Judge Claudia Wilken views the settlement’s long-term chances of succeeding, but plaintiffs’ attorney Jeffrey Kessler said the letter was an endorsement of the settlement and he doesn’t expect it to impact the agreement.

“All three of these athletes fully support approval of the settlement but wanted to express their additional views that a players’ association is also desirable,” Kessler said. “I salute their devotion to these issues and their fellow college athletes.”

Whether college athletes can ever be considered school employees is a thorny topic. There are multiple issues in front of the National Labor Relations Board, including a complaint against USC and the Pac-12; a unionization effort by the men’s basketball team at Dartmouth; an unfair labor complaint against Notre Dame; and a federal lawsuit in Pennsylvania filed by former Villanova football player Trey Johnson.

All of it could lead to college athletes being granted employee status, though court battles are assured.