SCOTUS Agrees To Hear NCAA Athlete Compensation Antitrust Case

The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear two cases regarding whether the NCAA violated antitrust law by limiting the amount of education-related benefits that athletes could procure, reported the Wall Street Journal.

In a Wednesday, December 16, order, the court stated the two cases, American Athletic Conference v. Alston, and National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Alston, will be argued together next year, with one hour for oral arguments

In May, a three-judge panel of the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling barring the NCAA from capping education-related compensation and benefits for student-athletes in Division I football and basketball programs. Division I conferences can still independently set their own rules.

In August, Justice Elena Kagan denied the NCAA’s request to put lower court rulings in favor of the student-athletes on hold at least temporarily while the NCAA formally petitioned the Supreme Court to take up the case.

Separately, the NCAA is moving to change its own internal rules to allow third parties to conditionally pay college athletes for things like autographs and endorsements. That is not part of the Supreme Court appeal.