USC, Stanford football players allege ‘conspiracy’ in lawsuit against NCAA, power conferences, CSC

A new class-action lawsuit has been filed against the NCAA, power conferences and College Sports Commission alleging a “conspiracy” to suppress NIL earnings, according to court documents obtained by On3’s Pete Nakos. USC linebacker Talanoa Ili and Stanford quarterback Charlie Mirer brought the suit forward.

In the suit, the plaintiffs requested a judge grant an injunction that would suspend operations of the NIL Go clearinghouse, which launched last year following approval of the House settlement. The system, overseen by the CSC and Deloitte, vets third-party NIL deals worth more than $2,500. Initially, that figure was $600.

All four power conference commissioners – the Big Ten’s Tony Petitti, the SEC’s Greg Sankey, the Big 12’s Brett Yormark and the ACC’s Jim Phillips – are listed as defendants, as are NCAA president Charlie Baker and College Sports Commission CEO Bryan Seeley. The suit alleges all of them participated in a “conspiracy and scheme” by creating CSC policies the plaintiffs argue are “anticompetitive.”

“The NCAA and the other Defendants understood that state laws prohibit the implementation of NIL compensation restrictions set out in the IRS,” the lawsuit states. “They thus were aware that congressional action would be necessary to implement the restrictions in those states. Defendants knew that Congress had not acted to preempt state law, that the court in House declined to find that the settlement preempted state law, and thus that implementing NIL restrictions would violate state laws.”

This story will be updated.