NCAA Settlement Attorneys Get $515 Million, With More On the Way

A federal judge on Friday awarded $515 million in fees to the attorneys representing athlete plaintiffs in the $2.8 billion NCAA antitrust settlement, with the potential for millions more over the next decade.

The approval comes as the NCAA settlement itself faces appeals from objectors over Title IX and other issues. The historic deal, approved last month, puts to rest claims by athletes who say they weren’t compensated for use of their names, images, and likenesses, and it allows colleges to pay players directly for the first time.

Judge Claudia A. Wilken for the US District Court for the Northern District of California approved $455.2 million in attorney fees—20% of the NIL settlement fund and 10% of the “additional compensation” fund—in the House v. NCAA case, as well as more than $9 million to reimburse litigation costs. Wilken also approved a $20 million “injunctive fee.”

Wilken also permitted class counsel to apply annually for 0.75% to 1.25% of the amounts that Division I institutions spend on student-athlete benefits and compensation. Class counsel estimated that legal fees would amount to an additional $250 million over 10 years.

The court found it reasonable to permit class counsel to apply each year for 0.75% to 1.25% of the amounts that Division I institutions spend on student-athlete benefits “because such fees will represent a very small percentage of the amounts that Division I institutions are expected to spend on student-athlete compensation and benefits under the pool,” she said.

Wilken also approved $40 million in attorneys’ fees in Hubbard v. NCAA, which was consolidated into the main case, as well as nearly $339,000 in litigation costs.

She approved service awards for the cases’ named plaintiffs, including $125,000 each for Grant House and Sedona Prince. In the Hubbard case, she awarded class representatives Chuba Hubbard—now an NFL running back for the Carolina Panthers—and Keira McCarrell service awards of $50,000 each.

Steve Berman, managing partner for plaintiffs attorney firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, said in a statement that he is pleased to see this “monumental case take another step in its final stages after 20 years of litigation for college athletes.”

The plaintiffs are also represented by Winston & Strawn LLP. The NCAA is represented by Wilkinson Stekloff LLP.

The case is In re College Athlete NIL Litig., N.D. Cal., No. 4:20-cv-03919, 7/11/25.