Topline
More than a dozen former college basketball players have sued the NCAA over the continued use of their name, image and likeness to promote the annual March Madness tournament—including a video of the 2008 “Mario’s Miracle” shot the lawsuit claims has been used “countless” times — without the athletes ever being compensated.
Mario Chalmers, No. 15 of the Kansas Jayhawks, shoots and makes a three-pointer to tie the game to … [+]
Key Facts
Sixteen former NCAA student-athletes whose careers span from the late 90s to 2010s sued the NCAA, Big East, Pac-12, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, ACC and Turner Sports Interactive in the Southern District of New York Monday, accusing the defendants of profiting in the millions by “systematically and intentionally” ignoring the athlete’s publicity rights.
The defendants want an unspecified amount of back pay “for the appropriation of their names, images, and likenesses by the NCAA.”
While the NCAA has since changed its rules allowing athletes to financially benefit from the use of their names, images and likeness, the defendants of the lawsuit played college sports before the change and were all made to sign a form that gave the NCAA the right to use their name and picture to promote NCAA events, the lawsuit says.
The athletes were told they could not compete in the NCAA if they didn’t sign the form, the complaint reads, saying it was used to “coerce student-athletes to give up legal rights they may not even realize they have.”
Since the players signed the form, which gave their likeness rights to the NCAA in perpetuity, the organization has continuously replayed historic moments from decades-old tournaments to promote the NCAA Championship March Madness tournament—which makes almost $1 billion in revenue per year, the lawsuit says—without ever compensating athletes.
Representatives for the NCAA did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment Tuesday.
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Who Are The Players Suing The Ncaa?
Mario Chalmers and Sherron Collins (University of Kansas); Jason Stewart, Eugene Edgerson, Aaron Bramlett and Jason Terry (University of Arizona); Roscoe Smith (UConn and University of Nevada); Ryan Boatright and and DeAndre Daniels (UConn); Matt Pressey (Missou); Alex Oriakhi (UConn and Mizzou); Gerard Coleman (Providence and Gonzaga); Ron Giplaye (Providence and East Tennessee State); Vincent Council (Providence); Justin Greene (Kent State); and James Cunningham (Arizona State and University of Tulsa).
Crucial Quote
“Those billions were made on the backs of Plaintiffs—and other players like them—and they continue to roll in, in large part from the uncompensated use of the players’ names and likenesses, long after the players have left school,” the lawsuit reads.
Tangent
The hallmark of the lawsuit is the continued use of a 2008 buzzer-beater shot that was later dubbed “Mario’s Miracle.” The Kansas Jayhawks and Memphis Tigers faced off in the 2008 NCAA national championship game when the Jayhawks’ Mario Chalmers made a three-point shot with 2 seconds left in the game to tie the two teams 63 to 63. The shot, now famous, forced the game into overtime. The Jayhawks went on to beat the Tigers for the school’s first NCAA men’s Division I college basketball championship since 1988. They’ve won only once since.
Key Background
For most of its history, NCAA athletes were not eligible to be paid for the use of their name, image or likeness in any capacity, including for brand sponsorships. Once a student was paid for being an athlete, they were considered a professional and therefore ineligible to play in the college sports league. In 2021, however, the NCAA adopted a new policy that allowed student athletes to benefit financially by entering into contracts, signing endorsement deals and promoting their personal brands. The NCAA in 2022 agreed to settlement that will see the organization pay more than $2.7 billion in damages to former athletes whose likenesses were used without compensation, and athletes have sighed big-name deals with major companies since. LSU Gymnast and TikTok star Livvy Dunne, a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, has signed almost $4 million in name, image and likeness deals, the school reported. Caitlin Clark had deals with Nike, Gatorade and State Farm, among others, when she was a collegiate athlete, and Angel Reese was sponsored by Sports Illustrated and Reebok.