After years of court battles, pay-for-play in college sports is here.

Late Friday afternoon, Judge Clifton Corker, in the Eastern District of Tennessee, granted a preliminary injunction barring the NCAA from enforcing any of its regulations around name, image, and likeness deals. The ruling could contribute to the death of NCAA amateurism—which is already on life support.

The biggest consequence: NIL collectives and boosters are no longer prohibited from negotiating deals before athletes commit to a school, ensuring that deals can become part of the recruiting process. In a 13-page ruling, Judge Corker said the NCAA’s prohibition on these negotiations “suppresses price competition by limiting negotiating leverage and, as a result, knowledge of value.”

More Fallout

The ruling will have other consequences as well. Among them: Athletic department officials can now facilitate NIL deals. Media companies can offer players NIL deals as a share to generate broadcast revenue. The NCAA is also barred from enforcing its “rule of restitution,” which allows for retroactive punishment of players if a ruling is overturned. The effects of the ruling will be tested for the first time during the next transfer portal window in April.

The decision will remain in place until the lawsuit, brought by the Tennessee and Virginia attorneys general in January, is settled or goes to trial. The NCAA has not specified whether it will begin an appeals process, but the governing body is looking into policy changes.

It’s Not Cut-and-Dry

The injunction, however, doesn’t provide for a free-for-all. State laws that bar using pay-for-play as NIL deals still exist—though legislators will likely move to strike down those laws so their local schools don’t lose a recruiting advantage. Some legal experts reportedly see the ruling as only applying to athletes in a particular jurisdiction, though others agree the ruling applies nationwide. 

The NCAA also claimed that the majority of its members do not agree with the ruling, though it clearly benefits the thousands of players the governing body also theoretically represents. 

“Creating a more transparent NIL process for athletes should be a top priority for all, and this decision is a massive step forward in achieving that goal,” an association of NIL collectives said in a statement. Tennessee’s attorney general echoed that sentiment in a statement. 

The Next Step

What’s next for the governing body? The NCAA will continue to beg Congress for a law that would supersede all the antitrust litigation facing it—after all, this is just one of several cases that could sink the NCAA’s business model of amateurism. A trial at the National Labor Relations Board resumes today in Los Angeles over athlete employment status. (Another NLRB decision from earlier this month regarding Dartmouth men’s basketball players has already affirmed that some players are university employees.)

The race is on for public money to build new pro sports stadiums in Chicago, and it’s possible there won’t be enough to go around to meet the still-growing wish list in the Windy City or statewide. 

White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf made his first extended comments last week on a proposed new ballpark near Chicago’s downtown for the MLB club, telling Crain’s Chicago Business that the project could involve an ask of about $1.1 billion in taxpayer funds, coupled with another $900 million in infrastructure work that has been authorized, but not funded, by a tax-increment financing district. The overall project, also involving adjacent mixed-use development that is increasingly in vogue across the sports industry, could reach $4 billion in total cost.

Reinsdorf’s interview arrived in tandem with team officials meeting last week with state lawmakers to begin their push for funding help. In both instances, Reinsdorf emphasized that the White Sox cannot succeed long-term at Guaranteed Rate Field, citing the “completely changed” economics of baseball. He also employed a time-honored maneuver of suggesting a potential relocation, telling the publication that “the team will be worth more out of town.”

Despite the hefty price tag for the proposed stadium project, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has shown a willingness to discuss the effort and is an ardent advocate of keeping the club in the city—similar to his ongoing stance toward the NFL’s Bears. 

“As far as public dollars, we haven’t gotten into any of those specifics yet,” Johnson said of the White Sox proposal. “But I will say that we’re going to explore all options. We have to make sure that we’re doing right by the people of Chicago. … Everything is on the table here. But again, I want to make sure there is a real commitment to public use and public benefit.”

That sentiment differs considerably from stiff opposition to sports facility funding in many other parts of the country, including in Virginia for the proposed arena and mixed-use development for the Washington Wizards and Capitals. 

Bearing Down

Reinsdorf conceded in the Crain’s interview that the White Sox and Bears could vie for the same hotel tax funds to fund their respective projects. The Bears are continuing an extensive search across the Chicago area for a site on which to build a new domed stadium. Despite the Bears owning a 326-acre tract in suburban Arlington Heights, an ongoing tax assessment dispute has helped extend the team’s search for other possibilities. 

Talks have occurred between the White Sox and Bears about not complicating each other’s stadium development and funding efforts, but a shared facility is not being contemplated.

In a recent interview with WGN, Bears president Kevin Warren talked up the appeal of Chicago’s noted lakefront area, where current home facility Soldier Field is located.

“I’ve made it very clear what I feel about Chicago,” Warren said. “I think it’s the finest city in the world. I can’t think of another major metropolitan area that has a beautiful lakefront that you can swim in that’s clean near downtown. The architecture in Chicago is phenomenal. And just the history and the tradition. It’s just something that feels right about the Bears in Chicago.”