House v. NCAA Landmark Settlement Approved: Key Takeaways

On June 6, 2025, Judge Claudia Wilken of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted final approval of the proposed settlement in the House v. NCAA class action litigation. The landmark antitrust settlement provides $2.8 billion to a class of approximately 390,000 former collegiate athletes in backpay for the use of their name, image, and likeness (NIL). Most of this money is expected to go to athletes who participated in revenue sports, including football and men's and women's basketball. The settlement also establishes a 10-year revenue sharing model going forward and allows university athletic departments to issue direct payments to athletes of up to $20.5 million annually beginning in the 2025-2026 athletic year. The settlement concludes three separate antitrust lawsuits that claimed the NCAA and Power Four athletic conferences were illegally limiting college athletes' ability to profit from their publicity rights.