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Jake Trotter, ESPN Senior Writer
Four ex-Michigan players, including former quarterback Denard Robinson and wide receiver Braylon Edwards, have filed a class-action lawsuit against the NCAA and Big Ten Network seeking more than $50 million for being “wrongfully and unlawfully denied” the opportunity to earn money off their name, image and likeness.
The lawsuit says the NCAA and Big Ten Network “have systematically exploited these iconic moments” that the players created during their careers at Michigan. The lawsuit is on behalf of those who played for Michigan prior to 2016.
Only since 2021 have college athletes been able to profit off NIL.
In May, the NCAA, its power conferences and attorneys representing Division I athletes agreed to settle three major antitrust lawsuits that threatened to upend the business model of college sports. The defendants agreed to pay roughly $2.7 billion in damages.
Any Division I athlete who played a sport from 2016 to present day is eligible for past damages. The 2016 cutoff is due to the statute of limitations on the initial House v. NCAA lawsuit, which was filed in 2020.
“The NCAA knew for decades that preventing players from monetizing the one thing of value they have — their name — was wrong and unlawful,” said James R. Acho, the plaintiffs’ attorney. “Today they recognize that players should have that right. But what about all the past players who were unlawfully denied that right? The money made off those players’ backs was in the hundreds of millions. … The players never saw a dime.
“… We are here to right that wrong.”
Former Michigan defensive end Mike Martin and linebacker Shawn Crable joined Robinson and Edwards in the suit against the Big Ten Network and NCAA. Robinson played quarterback for the Wolverines from 2009-12 and was the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year in 2010. Edwards won the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation’s top wide receiver, in 2004.