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NCAA Agrees to End Prize Money Restrictions in Settlement with Tennis Players

By  |  April 29, 2026

The NCAA has agreed to eliminate another long-standing rule as part of a legal settlement stemming from an antitrust lawsuit filed by college tennis players, marking a significant shift in how the organization approaches athlete compensation.

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    According to USA Today, the agreement was disclosed in a federal court filing on April 28 and resolves a case originally brought in 2024 by North Carolina women’s tennis player Reese Brantmeier. The lawsuit challenged NCAA rules that limited how much prize money athletes could earn before enrolling in college.

    As part of the proposed class-action settlement, the NCAA will remove restrictions on pre-enrollment prize money across all sports, not just tennis. Per USA Today, the case expanded when former Texas tennis player Maya Joint joined as a named plaintiff after she was required to forfeit a large portion of the $147,000 she earned at the U.S. Open in 2024 to maintain her eligibility.

    The settlement represents a broader change in NCAA policy, particularly for athletes in individual sports who often have fewer financial opportunities. “We applaud the NCAA’s evolution on the prize money issue and their recognition that most individual sport athletes, especially women, have little or no meaningful NIL (endorsement money) or revenue-sharing opportunities while playing their sport in college,” said Joel Lulla, an attorney for the plaintiffs. “This is a major step forward for our clients as well as for all individual sport athletes.”

    Related: Trump Commission Expected to Back NCAA Antitrust Exemption in College Sports Reform

    In addition to policy changes, the NCAA has agreed to pay $2.02 million in total damages. According to USA Today, that amount includes $10,000 service awards for both Brantmeier and Joint, $1.875 million in attorney’s fees, and $425,000 in legal costs. The organization will also contribute up to $250,000 toward settlement administration and notification expenses.

    The settlement class includes NCAA tennis players who voluntarily forfeited prize money earned in tournaments since March 2020, per USA Today. The case highlighted the financial sacrifices many athletes were required to make under previous NCAA rules.

    Brantmeier’s original complaint detailed how she forfeited most of the $48,913 she earned at the U.S. Open in 2021 due to NCAA restrictions. She was also sidelined from competition in the fall of 2022 after the NCAA questioned certain expenses related to her participation in that event.

    The NCAA’s restrictions on prize money were historically rooted in its commitment to maintaining “amateurism,” a principle designed to distinguish college athletes from professionals. Under those rules, Brantmeier was limited to earning no more than $10,000 annually in prize money during her high school career, along with reimbursement for certain unspecified expenses.

    Source: USA Today