The NCAA, Big Ten Conference, and Big Ten Network urged a Michigan federal judge on Wednesday to leave untouched the dismissal of a $50 million lawsuit from former college football players, arguing the court correctly determined the claims were filed too late.
U.S. District Judge Terrence G. Berg dismissed the complaint in September, ruling that the antitrust and unjust enrichment claims of four former University of Michigan football players — Denard Robinson, Braylon Edwards, Michael Martin, and Shawn Crable — were barred by the statute of limitations. The players’ careers had ended by 2012, and their claims arose from the NCAA and conference profiting from their names, images, and likenesses (NIL) without compensation.
The plaintiffs filed suit in September 2024, seeking to represent a class of athletes whose careers ended before June 15, 2016 — the cutoff for a $2.78 billion NIL settlement covering later athletes. The players had asked to amend the court’s ruling in October, contending that the court erred in finding their claims time-barred and in relying on the dismissal of earlier suits.
