Plaintiffs allege the NCAA’s new eligibility system arbitrarily limits athletes’ ability to compete, earn name and likeness compensation, and access revenue-sharing opportunities.
On Monday, August 10th, 2026, WBE and co-counsel filed a proposed class action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado challenging the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (“NCAA”) new age-based eligibility rule for allegedly restricting competition and depriving athletes of opportunities to earn compensation.
Plaintiffs allege that the NCAA’s adoption of an “age-based rule” imposes unreasonable restraints on the market for Division I college athletes in violation of federal antitrust law.
Under the NCAA’s old eligibility framework, which had been in place for almost fifty years, Division I athletes operated under the NCAA’s “Four-in-Five Year Rule” which permitted athletes to compete in four seasons during a five-year eligibility period.
The new age-based rule changes that system to a five-year eligibility window based on age, depriving athletes of opportunities to compete and earn name and likeness (NIL) compensation, while allowing arbitrary categories of exceptions to the age cap.
Under the new rule, exceptions are allowed for pregnancy, religious missions or similar service commitments, and/or military service, but excludes other valid circumstances such as injury, family issues, and financial hardships. This change allegedly deprives large swaths of student athletes from a full five years of competitive eligibility, specialized academic programming, NIL compensation, national exposure, and professional development pathways.
The complaint alleges that student athletes were deprived of a fifth year of competition due to the new age-based rule, causing significant financial harm to Plaintiffs and affected class members. Plaintiffs are seeking actual and treble damages, a declaratory judgment voiding the NCAA’s eligibility bylaws, and injunctive relief restraining the NCAA from enforcing its allegedly unlawful and anticompetitive rule.