UCLA wide receiver Kaedin Robinson files lawsuit against NCAA

UCLA wide receiver Kaedin Robinson has filed a lawsuit in  U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against the NCAA in his push to play for the Bruins this season. The former Appalachian State transfer’s NCAA waiver to play in 2025 was denied in March.

In the 19-page complaint filed on Tuesday, Robinson argues the NCAA’s eligibility rule is “unlawful” because it has “substantial anticompetitive effects” on junior college players. Robinson was initially thought to have another season of eligibility remaining due to the NCAA issuing a blanket waiver to junior college players following Diego Pavia’s injunction against the governing body.

An All-Sun Belt first-team selection last season, Robinson began his career at ASA Brooklyn before transferring to UCF. Robinson finished with 53 catches for 840 yards, two touchdowns and 15.8 yards per catch in 2024 at App State. After starting his career at UCF in 2021, he played the last three seasons at App State and has career totals of 148 catches for 2,194 yards and 15 touchdowns. He’s averaged 14.8 yards per catch.

In the filing, Robinson requested action for immediate and permanent injunctive relief against the NCAA to play this season. The lawsuit states he was offered an NIL contract by UCLA worth $450,000.

“The NCAA’s anticompetitive conduct, coupled with its unreasonable denial of Robinson’s meritorious request for a waiver, thus threatens him with immediate irreparable harm,” the lawsuit states.

If Kaedin Robinson is granted an injunction against the NCAA and plays this fall for UCLA, he is expected to be a top target for quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who transferred in from Tennessee in the spring. The Bruins also picked up Cal wideout Mikey Matthews in the portal.

“Despite the obvious and immediate harm that Robinson will suffer if not granted the requested relief, the NCAA has refused to grant him a waiver of the Five-Year Rule (and thus also refused to grant him the Pavia Waiver, which is dependent on the waiver of the Five-Year Rule),” the lawsuit states. “The NCAA has done so confusingly and inconsistently — even though it granted the Pavia Waiver on a blanket basis for purposes of the Intercollegiate Competition Rule. This Court’s immediate intervention is needed to right this wrong.”