Two U.S. law firms that spent years battling the National Collegiate Athletic Association over rules against paying student athletes could now earn more than $515 million in fees from a multibillion-dollar settlement they said will reshape the college sports landscape.
Law firms Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro and Winston & Strawn on Friday presented the $2.7 billion deal to a U.S. judge in California for approval. The filing kicks off a months-long process that could lead to hundreds of thousands of current and former students receiving payments tied to their athletic service.
The settlement resolves three lawsuits that broadly claimed the NCAA’s rules prohibiting payments to athletes violated U.S. antitrust law. One case focused on compensation for the commercial use of athletes' names, images and likenesses, another lawsuit was about athletic service, and a third involved restrictions on payments tied to academic achievements.
The settlement provides monetary damages — some players could get more than $1 million — and separately will allow schools to directly pay their athletes for the first time. The plaintiffs’ lawyers have estimated the value of those new payments and benefits at $20 billion over the ten-year settlement span.
The firms can ask for legal fees from the damages part of the settlement of up to $495 million to be paid out over ten years, according to the terms, but the final amount is subject to a judge’s approval.
They also would receive $20 million upfront from the part of the settlement that deals with future compensation to student athletes.
Each successive year for a decade, the firms can also apply for more fees based on a percentage of the pool of money that schools anticipate using to pay athletes. Those additional fees could be worth tens of millions of dollars.
Steve Berman of Hagens Berman and Jeffrey Kessler of Winston & Strawn, who have led the litigation, have not yet asked the court for fees, which Kessler said would be paid out within the ten-year span of the settlement.
Berman and Kessler hailed the settlement in statements on Friday as historic and long in the making. They were also co-lead counsel in a separate case that opened a door to schools allowing all forms of education compensation after a win at the U.S. Supreme Court in 2021.
The agreement gives the NCAA and class members power to oppose plaintiffs’ fee requests. The NCAA declined to comment on the fees.
The NCAA in a statement called the settlement a “step in the ongoing effort to provide increased benefits to student-athletes while creating a stable and sustainable model for the future of college sports.”
Hagens Berman, Winston and a third firm said in court papers that they dedicated about 67,635 hours to the case so far, corresponding to about $47 million based on billing rates.
The firms also said they can seek compensation for any work they undertake to ensure the NCAA complies with the settlement.
Read more:
NCAA agrees to 'road map' settlement for college athlete payments
NCAA faces new lawsuit over athletes' drive for compensation
US judge says NCAA athletes can pursue class actions seeking over $1.3 bln
Plaintiffs' lawyers in NCAA case pick up $3.5 mln more in fees
