The NCAA and NIL have finally come to a settlement recently. Unfortunately, this settlement has created more problems than solutions among the NCAA athletes. The start of this conflict has been the rules the NCAA imposes on its athletes. As it happens, they prohibit any recruits from receiving NIL compensation. This eventually led multiple attorneys across various states, such as Virginia and Tennessee, among others, to file a complaint. And in this struggle against the NCAA is none other than Olivia Dunne.

A signed agreement, filed last week with the US District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee in Gainesville, officially settled the matter. However, as soon as the details of the house settlement emerged, frustrations began to creep into the athletes for the vagueness of its rules. The NCAA heartthrob submitted a detailed letter addressing all the questionable points in the $2.8 billion antitrust settlement from the NCAA.

An X account recently shared a copy of Dunne’s letter on social media. Looking at a glance, there seem to be innumerable discrepancies that Dunne wants to set straight. She has accused the settlement of ‘lacking transparency.’She further pointed out that a mismatch regarding the legal fees and a temporarily non-functional estimated allocation link has further raised concerns.

“If I were to hire a law firm to represent me individually in this matter, I would want to know how the valuation of damages was calculated specifically to me. This seems not to be the case,” said Dunne. The NCAA champion then clarified that the link did work for her after all. But that does not make her overlook the fact that there were no athletes involved in the case before the NCAA concluded. 

Agitated at such ignorance from the NCAA, Dunne termed this “the long tradition of shutting athletes out of having a voice in a legal issue where they hold a financial interest.” Continuing with her detailed arguments, Dunne further explained how there was no clarity about the exact value of an athlete if the NCAA ban never existed. This is a significant issue, as the business model and the economy have changed drastically over the last few years. But Olivia is not alone in her struggle. 

More athletes join Olivia Dunne in calling out the NCAA house settlement

With such atrocities being addressed by the LSU gymnast, she had one final request. She wanted the presence of the attorneys for the final hearing in addition to being there herself. And while it is unclear whether Dunne’s request will be accepted, she is not the one who is voicing her concerns against the NCAA house settlement.

After Olivia Dunne’s outcry, there have been at least 18 more objections submitted regarding the $2.8 billion house settlement. The concerns listed vary from Title IX, unfair salary caps, and even roster limits. In fact, not only gymnasts, soccer players, and legal briefs have also started to lash out at the  NCAA. Meanwhile, there has been a group of 67 athletes who had initially opted out of the class action settlement. 

This group included the likes of Kylin Hill, who was the ex-running back for Mississippi State. Hill, along with the others, has lodged a separate antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA and the conferences. With so many objections flooding in, the burden is now on the US District Judge, Claudia Wilken. Wilken will now have to go through all the petitions filed before April 7, 2025, to conclude the matter. 

On the contrary, the NCAA’s lead counsel, Rakesh Kilaru, looks quite positive about the outcome of the house settlement. Kilaru stated, “We don’t think there’s anything in the objections that hasn’t been known about the settlement and wasn’t raised by others at the preliminary approval process.”

Kilaru further added, “We don’t think there’s anything in the objections that will give the judge reason to change her mind.” Surely, it is evident that the house settlement issue has reached a bumpy ride. Now it remains to be seen how things pan out in the future.