Attorney says settlement being considered in NCAA antitrust case could withstand future challenges

One of the lead attorneys in a class-action antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA said Monday that settlement talks are progressing as a deadline looms next week for the organization and major conferences to agree to a deal that would cost billions in damages and set up a groundbreaking revenue-sharing system with college athletes.

“I’m hearing that things are going well in terms of both sides getting ready to approve this,” Steve Berman, a Seattle-based attorney for the plaintiffs, told The Associated Press.

Berman would not confirm details of the possible agreement, but said a settlement would create a new framework for paying college athletes that he believes could withstand future antitrust challenges.

“The rules prohibiting outright restrictions on (name, image and likeness) and other compensation payments will be greatly modified such that they probably can satisfy a pro-competitive justification,” said Berman, who has won several other cases against the NCAA, including the Alston case that went before the Supreme Court.