NCAA can't enforce NIL rules after judge grants injunction - ESPN

A federal judge in Tennessee granted a preliminary injunction on Friday afternoon that prohibits the NCAA from punishing any athletes or boosters for negotiating name, image and likeness deals during their recruiting process or while they are in the transfer portal.

The injunction is not a final ruling in the case, but the judge's decision will likely have an immediate and dramatic impact on how NIL deals are used in the recruiting process.

«The NCAA's prohibition likely violates federal antitrust law and harms student-athletes,» U.S. District Judge Clifton Corker wrote in his decision Friday.

NCAA rules prohibit athletes from signing NIL contracts that are designed as inducements to get them to attend a particular school — one of the few restrictions in place for how athletes can make money. For example, the NCAA recently announced sanctions against Florida State football because a member of its coaching staff connected a prospect with a booster collective that works closely with the Seminoles. The collective made a specific offer to the player, who was considering transferring from his current school to Florida State.

The attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia argued that the NCAA is illegally restricting opportunities for athletes by preventing them from negotiating the terms of NIL deals prior to deciding where they want to go school. The lawsuit was filed Jan. 31, one day after University of Tennessee chancellor Donde Plowman revealed in a letter to the NCAA that the school's athletic department was being investigated for potential recruiting rules violations.

In Friday's ruling, Corker determined that the attorneys general have a reasonable chance of winning their case and that athletes could suffer