Washington, D.C. — Today, Congresswomen Deborah Ross (NC-02) and Lori Trahan (MA-03) led 8 Members of Congress in requesting clarifications from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) on how the recent settlement in House v. NCAA will impact women’s sports. The settlement allows student athletes to profit from their publicity through the use of their names, images, and likeness (NIL) and allocates damages to former student athletes, with sums heavily skewed towards football and men’s basketball players.

In February, the Trump administration rescinded the Biden administration’s Title IX guidance on NIL payments that required equitable distribution between male and female athletes. Some schools quickly indicated they intend to funnel the majority of their direct payments to male athletes.

In their letter, the Members specifically asked for answers regarding how the NCAA will promote and protect women’s participation in college sports while ensuring equitable payment for student athletes:

1. Will the NCAA encourage schools to allocate direct payments to male and female athletes equitably?
2. Male athletes are likely to continue receiving the bulk of payments from third parties, which may not be bound by Title IX. Will the NCAA refocus its own investments in women’s sports to counteract this disparity?
3. The NCAA has indicated that the elimination of scholarship limits and the implementation of roster caps will introduce more scholarship opportunities to women athletes. By how much does the NCAA expect these changes to increase overall funding for women’s sports at D1 schools?
4. What will the NCAA do to educate athletes – particularly women athletes – about the details of the settlement and the opportunities associated with it, along with the rights they may give up when signing contracts with their schools?

The lawmakers also asked specifically about the damages allocated in the settlement, writing, “The damages allocated to former athletes heavily favor football and men’s basketball, providing 90% of the $2.8 billion sum to players in these sports. The remaining damages are split evenly between women’s basketball and all other sports. We understand that former women student athletes have already appealed the damages portion of the settlement. How will the NCAA commit to ensuring damages are distributed in an equitable manner?”

The members concluded: “As the House v. NCAA settlement is finalized and implemented, we stand ready to work with you to promote equitable opportunity in college athletics for women. We thank you for your attention and look forward to your response.”

In addition to Reps. Ross and Trahan, the letter was signed by Representatives Nikema Williams (GA-05), Kathy Castor (FL-14), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Jerry Nadler (NY-12), Greg Stanton (AZ-04), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), and Jennifer McClellan (VA-04).

The full text of the letter can be found here.