A federal judge approved a final settlement deal between a bipartisan coalition of states led by Tennessee with the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) over its name, image, and likeness (NIL) recruitment ban, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced on Monday.
In January 2024, Skrmetti and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA’s NIL recruitment ban, which prohibited prospective student-athletes from discussing potential NIL opportunities with schools and collectives prior to enrolling.
Another big win for Tennessee!
A U.S. District Court Judge signed AND approved our final settlement with the @NCAA protecting the rights of Tennessee's student athletes.
This is a great win for our students, fans, and universities! pic.twitter.com/bg5CVa0Hfp
— TN Attorney General (@AGTennessee) March 24, 2025
The lawsuit led by Skrmetti and Miyares was also joined by the attorneys general of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia.
Under the NCAA’s challenged NIL recruitment ban, student-athletes were specifically prohibited from negotiating with collectives, reviewing NIL offers before making enrollment decisions, and adequately considering the full scope of NIL-related services a school might offer upon enrollment.
In the original complaint, the plaintiffs argued that the NIL recruitment ban “violated antitrust laws in its enforcement of rules that unfairly restricted how student-athletes can commercially use their NIL at a critical juncture in the recruiting process.”
Earlier this month, the plaintiffs and NCAA reached a final settlement pending court approval that Skrmetti says will “transform college athletics” and “ensure the rights and freedoms of student-athletes” as the NCAA agrees to the following conditions:
- Guarantee that future student-athletes and current student-athletes in the transfer portal can freely negotiate compensation for their name, image, and likeness before they commit to a specific school;
- Allow third parties to negotiate NIL deals with prospective student-athletes during the standard recruiting windows;
- Enable schools to provide prospective student-athletes with support and assistance regarding NIL opportunities during the recruiting process;
- Prohibit the NCAA from undermining or circumventing these provisions through future actions; and
- The NCAA must publicize any proposed NIL changes for the next five years and must meet with the states before any proposed NIL changes can go into effect.
A federal judge with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Knoxville approved the settlement on Friday.
Skrmetti said the judge’s approval of the settlement is “a great win for our students, fans, and universities.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
