Court: NCAA Doesn’t Have to Pay Athletes

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a decision Wednesday that NCAA rules restricting athlete payments violate antitrust laws. “The NCAA is not above the antitrust laws, and courts cannot and must not shy away from requiring the NCAA to play by the Sherman Act’s rules,” the panel wrote. The panel rejected a previous ruling that the NCAA was required to pay its athletes $5,000 a year, but upheld the decision to all NCAA institutions to give scholarships that cover the cost of attending.