NCAA Pauses Investigations into NIL Deals After Court Injunctions

Courtesy: Robbie Dickson

In a memo sent to member schools on Friday, NCAA President Charlie Baker announced that the NCAA will “pause and not begin investigations involving third-party compensation in NIL-related activities.” This stance comes as a direct result from the federal judge in the Eastern District of Tennessee’s decision to grant a preliminary injunction preventing the NCAA from enforcing its NIL restrictions and its rule of restitution.

That includes investigations into activity at Tennessee, Virginia, and Florida 

Baker reiterated that the NCAA enforcement staff will continue to enforce the prohibition on pay-for-play NIL deals based on specific athletic performance, the prohibition on schools directly paying athletes for their NIL, and requiring a quid pro quo requirement for all NIL deals.

Here's the memo from NCAA president Charlie Baker, sent to member schools today.

NCAA enforcement has been instructed to pause investigations involving third-party participation in NIL-related activities & no penalty for conduct that occurs while the injunction is in place: pic.twitter.com/q90AYi6aZP

— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) March 1, 2024

Baker has had a tumultuous start to his tenure as NCAA President since assuming the position on March 1, 2023. While ticket sales and television viewership across the board continues to break records and interest appears to be at an all-time high, the NCAA finds itself engulfed in legal battles all over the country that could greatly alter the landscape of college athletics. These  battles involve disputes related to NIL backpay, whether athletes are employees of their institutions, direct attacks on NIL policies, and even a member institution attempting to withdraw from its conference.  

With eight years spent as Massachusetts’ governor, Baker has continued to use his Washington connections to lobby Congress for an antirust that would protect the governing body from some of the legal battles it faces. While there have been over ten Congressional hearings covering NIL and college sports, no substantive progress has been made towards granting the NCAA an antitrust exemption. Based on the current state of the country and world, it is unlikely that any progress will be made during an election year when other world matters will take priority.