Paul Finebaum on House Settlement fallout: ‘Enthusiasm has evaporated’

On June 6, Judge Claudia Wilken approved the House v. NCAA settlement, opening up the floodgates for revenue sharing. At first, prominent figures across the college landscape welcomed the settlement, declaring that the changes would usher in a new era of order in the NIL landscape.

However, it didn’t take long for new lawsuits to begin pouring in, and the joy surrounding the House settlement to slightly shrivel. During an appearance on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning on Tuesday, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum weighed in on the aftermath of the settlement’s approval.

“A lot of the original enthusiasm has evaporated, and I think the reality has struck,” Finebaum said. “I give the four Power Four commissioners kudos for showing up and the other people for showing up a week ago and a day, and expressing optimism. And what else are they supposed to do?

“They tried to avoid a courtroom. They tried to avoid what could have been the end of what we know as college athletics, and they took a victory lap. But since then, I haven’t seen very many positive things. It seemed like, once again, the plaintiff attorneys are out in force. And just like they have done with so many other industries, they are probably going to completely screw up this.”

Only five days after Wilken’s approval, a group of women’s sports representatives filed an appeal, citing Title IX violations. The group of women’s sports athletes are arguing the House settlement violates the Title IX gender equality statute since it doesn’t include any language that directly addresses Title IX.

“The House Settlement allocates $2.4 billion to men and only $102 million to women,” objecting attorney Leigh Ernst Friestedt told CBS Sports. “This significant dispartity constitutes a violation of Title IX.”

The appeal named eight objectors: Vanderbilt cross country runner Kacie Breeding; former or current College of Charleston soccer players Elizabeth Arnold, Savannah Baron, Lexi Drumm, Riley Hass and Emmie Wannemacher; College of Charleston volleyball player Emma Appleman; and Virginia volleyball player Kate Johnson. It was filed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, according to the filing.

Evidently, Finebaum foresees other appeals like this appearing as athletes grow unhappy with the implications of the House settlement. If these appeals continue to pop up, the NCAA could be facing more setbacks than progress.

Nonetheless, there are several innovations that have arisen from the House settlement that won’t be easy to get rid of. Most notably, the College Sports Commission and NIL Go will usher in a new level of scrutiny to NIL deals. Of course, legal action could slow down these institutions as well if enough plaintiffs take action.