Ed O’Bannon lawsuit expands against NCAA, opens up possibility of compensation for current players

Sep 1, 2012, 1:12 PM EDT

Ed O’Bannon’s lawsuit against the NCAA is not new, having been filed in 2009, but Friday brought an expansion of the scope of the lawsuit to include current players.

Now, under NCAA rules, current players are not allowed to be compensated for their play or the use of their likeness and image, but O’Bannon’s filing takes a look at that concept.

As Michael McCann points out over at SI.com, O’Bannon doesn’t necessarily want current college players to be paid while still in school, but, rather, wants a trust set up that will be available to players once they have completed their college careers.

McCann explains:

“Under O’Bannon’s proposed trust, when Barkley finishes his time at USC, he would receive money for four years’ use of his name, image and likeness.

Under an economic formula proposed by O’Bannon, players would receive half of the NCAA’s broadcasting revenue and one-third of video game revenue, with the remainder of revenue staying with the NCAA, conferences and colleges. Four-year players would likely accrue thousands or tens of thousands of dollars — if not more — in their trusts.”

Part of the lawsuit challenges forms distributed by the NCAA that force players to give up the right to profit off of their image and likeness in order to compete. If one were to not sign the form, he or she could lose the athletic scholarship that pays the way through college.

To read all of McCann’s article, click here.

Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_