Former Michigan football players seek $50M in NIL lawsuit against NCAA, Big Ten Network

Four Wolverines filed a class-action lawsuit over being ‘wrongfully and unlawfully’ denied the opportunity to capitalize on NIL

A Michigan football helmet on the field during warmup at the spring game at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor on Saturday, April 20, 2024. / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

Four former Michigan football players, including former quarterback Denard Robinson and wide receiver Braylon Edwards, filed a class-action lawsuit against the NCAA and Big Ten Network for being denied NIL opportunities during their college playing careers.

The lawsuit, which does not target the Wolverines football program, says the NCAA and Big Ten Network "have systematically exploited these iconic moments" the players created during their time at Michigan, per ESPN. It also argues the NCAA and Big Ten Network have made money off the performances of the four players by “broadcasting, advertising, and selling merchandise.” According to CBS Sports, the lawsuit mentions the Big Ten Network has aired classic Michigan football games for nearly two decades without any compensation for the players featured.

The ex-Wolverines seek more than $50 million in damages. The lawsuit, which was first reported by the Detroit News, represents all those who played for Michigan prior to 2016.

In May, the NCAA, its power conferences and attorneys representing Division-I student-athletes agreed to settle three major antitrust lawsuits that posed a real threat to the business side of college athletics. Per the settlement’s terms, the NCAA and power conferences will pay roughly $2.7 billion in damages to thousands of student-athletes who played a sport from 2016 to the present day.

The 2016 cutoff is due to the statute of limitations on the initial House v. NCAA lawsuit, which was filed in 2020. Student-athletes have been able to profit from NIL opportunities since 2021. 

The settlement still awaits preliminary approval. Northern District of California Judge Claudia Wilken, the one overseeing the case, told attorneys she wouldn’t grant preliminary approval to a settlement including restrictions on NIL collectives. The settlement gives a third party, chosen by the NCAA, the ability to block any NIL deal that’s worth over $600 if it is seen as “pay-for-play.” Even though the NCAA would be allowing its schools to essentially pay their student-athletes through a proposed revenue-sharing model, which is also included in the settlement’s terms and would grant universities to share roughly $20 million per year with players.

Attorneys have three weeks to make the necessary changes to the settlement, though based on last week’s hearing, it won’t be an easy process. Rakesh Kilaru, an attorney representing the NCAA, made it clear an agreement could hinge on whether the governing body can maintain language restricting NIL collectives and third-party deals in the settlement’s terms. Otherwise, the NCAA would have to resort to inserting its existing NIL policy language — which has been ruled against in the courtroom in the past — or settle without its NIL approval process entirely.

Former Michigan defensive end Mike Martin and linebacker Shawn Crable joined Robinson and Edwards in the suit against the Big Ten Network and NCAA. Robinson played quarterback for the Wolverines from 2009-12 and was the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year in 2010. He also appeared on the cover of EA Sports’ NCAA Football 14 video game.