A Deal Under Fire: What Athletes Are Saying
Objections poured in from all angles, with athletes targeting everything from vague language to unfair payout structures and alleged Title IX violations. Dunne and Burr-Kirven were among the most vocal critics.
Olivia Dunne: “Flawed and Unclear”
Dunne, one of the highest-earning student-athletes with over 13 million followers, claimed that her damages payout was based on incomplete data submitted by LSU. After filing her claim, she discovered she was locked into the deal, which she likened to a “contract of adhesion.”
Burr-Kirven: “Cryptic Black Box”
Former Seattle Seahawk Benjamin Burr-Kirven lambasted the formula used to determine payouts as “completely illogical” and “cryptic.” He claimed special teams players with minimal impact were receiving five times more than full-time starters like himself — an error he said couldn’t be explained or appealed.
He described a Kafkaesque experience where attempts to contact the claims administrator went unanswered, leaving him and others in a payout purgatory.
