NIL Timeline
NCAA v. Alston
The Supreme Court’s 2021 decision in NCAA v. Alston (594 U.S. 69) held that the NCAA’s restrictions on education-related benefits for student-athletes violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act and must be evaluated under the ordinary “rule of reason” antitrust analysis.
The Court found that the NCAA and its member schools possess monopsony power in the market for student-athlete labor, and that their compensation limits had significant anticompetitive effects, depressing both price and quantity below competitive levels.
It also rejected the NCAA’s arguments for special treatment or immunity from antitrust law, emphasizing that the NCAA is not exempt from the Sherman Act simply because of its nonprofit status or educational mission.
To dig deeper, visit the original article on the Thomson Reuters blog.