Jon Israel on Biggest Sports Cases for 2025 – 'We've got all sorts of open question'
Foley & Lardner LLP partner Jon Israel elucidated a major college sports case and its far-reaching consequences in the Law360 article, “The Top Sports & Betting Cases To Keep An Eye On In 2025.”
Israel, describing the landmark settlement reached in May 2024 between the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and former college athletes, said that various questions surrounding the settlement from multiple factions have yet to be resolved and likely will not be by the January 31, 2025, deadline to oppose or opt out of the settlement.
“Even if House is approved, we’ve got all sorts of open questions,” said Israel, who is co-chair of Foley’s Sports & Entertainment Group and leader of the firm’s College Sports: “NIL” Task Force. He cited as examples the volume of possible opt-outs among the class of more than 180,000 athletes, potential antitrust conflicts, NCAA lobbying of Congress for antitrust exemption, and the labyrinth of state Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) laws.
“I think you’re still going to have antitrust claims from state attorneys general, even if you don’t have a state law that says, ‘NCAA, stay out of our business,'” Israel said, even if the settlement gains final approval in federal court. “And what will happen then? I don’t know.”
Israel also noted numerous active NIL-related antitrust suits and a February 2024 injunction against enforcing the NCAA’s NIL rules as part of an antitrust suit brought by the states of Tennessee and Virginia that remains in place.
“It just seems like you can’t fix all the issues just by settling a class action case on NIL that doesn’t involve everybody,” Israel added.
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