Terrelle Pryor’s lawsuit against Ohio State, NCAA and Big Ten dismissed

A judge on Friday dismissed a lawsuit former Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor had filed against the school, the NCAA and the Big Ten over denied compensation for name, image and likeness during his college career.

Chief Judge Sarah D. Morrison of the Southern District of Ohio granted the plaintiffs’ motion to dismiss, ruling Ohio State is covered by sovereign immunity and Pryor’s claims were made outside the four-year statute of limitations for an antitrust lawsuit.

“Mr. Pryor failed to assert his claims for injunctive relief within the four-year statutory period. And he makes no argument to rebut the presumption that allowing his claims to proceed would be unreasonable and prejudicial to Defendants,” Morrison wrote.

Pryor sued his alma mater in October on the heels of former Southern California star and Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush filing a similar suit against USC and the NCAA, and several former Michigan players targeting the NCAA and the Big Ten Network.

Pryor was a high-profile recruit from Pennsylvania and Ohio State’s starting quarterback from 2008 to 2010. He passed for 6,177 yards, ran for 2,164 and accounted for 74 touchdowns during his time as a Buckeye. His college career ended 11 years before the NCAA lifted its ban on athletes being paid for use of their name, image and likeness.

Pryor’s lawsuit did not specify damages being sought, but claimed the rules of the time cost athletes like Pryor millions of dollars and that the defendants were still making money off their exploits by replaying historic moments for promotional activities.

His college career ended amid an NCAA investigation into rules violations by Pryor and some of his teammates for trading their equipment, memorabilia and autographs for tattoos and cash. Instead of serving a potential five-game suspension in his senior year, Pryor entered the 2011 NFL Supplemental Draft. He was selected by the Oakland Raiders and given a five-game suspension to start his NFL career.

Since the NCAA changed its rules to allow college athletes to earn money through sponsorship and endorsement deals, high-profile athletes have routinely earned hundreds of thousands of dollars — even millions — in NIL compensation.

A recent antitrust lawsuit settlement will pay $2.8 billion in damages to former and current college athletes who were denied NIL compensation, dating back to 2016. The settlement agreement also cleared the way for schools to begin directly compensating athletes, starting this year.

(Photo: Chris Graythen / Getty Images)