Open Markets Supports Athletes’ Antitrust Attack on NCAA Cartel

Washington, D.C. --- Today, the Open Markets Institute, Change To Win, the National Employment Law Project, and Professors Marshall Steinbaum, Sanjukta Paul, and Veena Dubal filed an amici curiae brief supporting current and former college basketball and football players in their antitrust suit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). They allege that the NCAA has colluded to restrain intercollegiate competition for their athletic services and deprived them of the right to earn a competitive income for their hard work and talent.

“For far too long, the NCAA has robbed college athletes’ of competitive compensation for their skills and talent, in much the same way corporations in health care and tech have colluded against their nurses and engineers. The NCAA’s collusion deepens racial injustice, transferring income from a group of largely African American college athletes to mostly white administrators and coaches,” said Sandeep Vaheesan, Legal Director of Open Markets Institute. “The court of appeals should confine its antitrust analysis to the effects of the NCAA cartel on college athletes to ensure that the Sherman Act fully protects the players and other workers.”

Read the full brief here.