Sixteen former college basketball players, including Kansas stars Mario Chalmers and Sherron Collins, have sued the NCAA and multiple conferences for unauthorized use of their name, image, and likeness (NIL) in March Madness highlights. Key defendants in the class-action lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in New York, are the Big East, Pac-12, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, ACC, and Turner Sports Interactive. The lawsuit highlights the continued use of players’ NIL for commercial purposes without compensation, affecting numerous former athletes.
Mario Chalmers’ dramatic 3-pointer in the 2008 national championship game against Memphis is just one of many iconic moments used without player consent. The suit accuses the NCAA and associated bodies of systematically misappropriating the players’ publicity rights and profiting substantially. This aligns with recent decisions by the NCAA’s board of governors to settle similar antitrust cases, agreeing to provide over $2.7 billion to former athletes for back damages related to NIL restrictions.
Several other plaintiffs from various schools like UConn, Arizona, and Providence have joined the lawsuit. Additionally, 10 members of the 1983 NC State men’s basketball team, known for their “Cardiac Pack” victory, have filed a similar lawsuit. These cases underscore the NCAA’s enduring pattern of leveraging its monopoly to exploit student-athletes’ NILs from their college years to long after their careers end.
