As a result of a lawsuit brought by former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon, college athletes will now enjoy expanded coverage of expenses, but not the $5,000 payment for use of their images that U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken ordered in 2014.
That’s the ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this week in its review of the O’Bannon lawsuit and Judge Wilken’s decision.
Instead of a yearly payment, the circuit court ruled that colleges must cover the full “cost of attendance” beyond just the cost of tuition, room, board, books and fees. Cost of attendance includes things such as transportation and miscellaneous expenses.
O’Bannon in his lawsuit argued that not paying athletes for the use of their likenesses, names and images on video games and television violated the Sherman Antitrust Act. Both Judge Wilken and the 9th Circuit Court agreed, but the reviewing body threw out the district judge’s monetary award of up to $5,000 per player.
“The Rule of Reason requires that the NCAA permit its schools to provide up to the cost of attendance to their student athletes,” the circuit court ruled. “It does not require more.”
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