Background
The movement to allow student-athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL) continues to sweep across the nation, reshaping amateur athletics from coast to coast. What began as a collegiate phenomenon has steadily made its way into high school athletics, with nearly every state now allowing young athletes to benefit from their NIL in some form.[1]
Rutgers University football player Jett Elad is one of the latest student-athletes to file a federal antitrust lawsuit against the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.[1] Elad’s lawsuit challenges what he calls the NCAA’s “arbitrary and unreasonable” application of its new waiver allowing student-athletes who attended and competed at a non-NCAA school (e.g., junior college (JUCO)) for one or more years to remain eligible to compete in 2025-26 academic year (JUCO Waiver).