Virginia AG settles with NCAA to protect name, image likeness rights for student-athletes

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — After a year of litigation, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and a bipartisan coalition of states reached a settlement agreement with the National Collegiate Athletic Association to guarantee student-athletes’ right to negotiate and benefit from their Name, Image and Likeness rights, or NIL.

In Jan. 2024, Miyares and other states’ attorneys generals filed an antitrust lawsuit against NCAA, which alleged that the association’s NIL restrictions “violate federal antitrust law and is harmful to current and future student-athletes.”

It came on the heels of a 2021 U.S. Supreme Court decision in which all sitting justices found that NCAA could not restrict an athlete’s NIL payments under antitrust law.

On Jan. 31, exactly a year after Miyares’ initial announcement, the Office of the Attorney General provided an update stating that a settlement agreement had been reached.

This settlement will “protect student-athletes’ Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rights during the recruiting process.” The office added that the terms of the settlement also bar the NCAA from reinstating its “NIL Recruiting Ban.”

“Today’s agreement with the NCAA is a major step toward helping student-athletes to control their own future,” Miyares said in a press release. “We look forward to a final settlement that ensures student-athletes — just like any other American — can benefit from their talent, hard work and NIL market value.”

Alongside Miyares, the involved attorneys generals were from Tennesee, New York, Florida and the District of Columbia.