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NCAA’s $49.3 Million Settlement Over Unpaid Baseball Coaches Gets Preliminary Green Light

By  |  May 1, 2025

The NCAA has secured preliminary court approval for a $49.3 million settlement aimed at resolving antitrust allegations that it conspired to deny compensation to Division I college baseball volunteer coaches, according to Bloomberg.

In a ruling issued Wednesday, U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb described the proposed agreement as “fair, just, reasonable, and adequate,” clearing the way for a final approval hearing set for September 15. The case, which affects roughly 1,000 coaches, centers on a now-defunct NCAA rule that prohibited volunteer baseball coaches from receiving a salary.

Read more: Federal Judge Dismisses Mario Chalmers’ Antitrust Lawsuit Against NCAA Over NIL Rights

Per Bloomberg, the litigation is one of two ongoing cases overseen by Judge Shubb that challenge the NCAA’s compensation restrictions under antitrust laws. Plaintiffs alleged that the organization’s regulations were designed to suppress competition and artificially maintain a system in which some coaches worked without pay, despite performing essential duties alongside salaried staff.

This settlement marks another instance of the NCAA facing legal and financial consequences for longstanding amateurism rules, which have increasingly come under scrutiny in recent years.

Source: Bloomberg