NCAA agrees to strike down another rule as part of new legal settlement

The NCAA has agreed to strike down another one of its old rules in order to resolve another antitrust lawsuit against the organization, this time filed by tennis players who challenged NCAA restrictions on their earnings before college. The details were revealed in a federal court filing April 28 after the NCAA was initially sued by North Carolina women’s tennis player Reese Brantmeier in 2024 . As part of the proposed class-action settlement, the NCAA agreed to eliminate restrictions on pre-enrollment prize money for athletes in all sports, not just tennis.

Former Texas tennis player Maya Joint also joined the case as a named plaintiff after being forced to forfeit much of the $147,000 in prize money she earned at the U. S. Open in order to maintain her NCAA eligibility in 2024.

“The proposed settlement is an extraordinary outcome for the Classes, and the injunctive relief obtained will positively impact future generations of student-athletes,” the plaintiffs said in their motion to approve the proposed settlement April 28. What are other terms of the proposed settlement with the NCAA? The NCAA also has agreed to pay a total damages settlement of $2.

02 million, including a $10,000 service award to Joint and Brantmeier, plus $1. 875 million in attorney’s fees and $425,000 in costs. Additionally, the NCAA has agreed to pay up to $250,000 toward settlement notice and administration costs.