Letter filed by athletes' lawyers urges for injunction in House v. NCAA settlement

In a letter filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, lawyers who represent athletes objecting to the proposed House v. NCAA settlement have requested Judge Claudia Wilken to order an immediate injunction. The House v. NCAA settlement is currently on track to be approved on April 7.

Filed by the Buchalter law firm, the five-page letter asks for an injunction to prevent, “the NCAA from imposing its unilateral March 1, 2025 deadline on schools” to opt into the settlement terms, including roster limits.

If the House v. NCAA settlement is ultimately approved, some $2.75 billion in damages will be paid to thousands of college athletes over 10 years. And schools, at their discretion, will be able to share $20.5 million in 2025-26 with athletes.

As part of the House settlement, scholarship increases are coming across sports, as are new roster limits, if the agreement is certified. The proposed rosters include football (105), men’s and women’s basketball (15), baseball (34), men’s and women’s soccer (28), softball (25) and volleyball (18).

“Requiring schools to opt in to roster limits before the Court has even ruled on the many filed objections is putting the proverbial cart before the horse and places athletes at an even greater risk of being cut from their teams before the settlement has been approved. Once these athletes are cut from their teams, the harm is irreparable,” the letter states.

The settlement’s requirement on roster limits in college sports has already begun to have an impact. Thousands of Division I roster spots will be eliminated, specifically erasing walk-on spots in football and Olympic sports.

“The NCAA’s actions are creating an even greater risk that class members will be prematurely cut from their teams. Critically, once a class member is cut from their team, the chance of returning back to the team if roster limits are overruled is highly unlikely,” the letter reads.