Gregg Clifton Speaks with Law360 Employment Authority About Impact of NCAA Settlement on Student-Athletes’ Unionization Efforts

Phoenix, Ariz. (June 25, 2025) - Phoenix Partner Gregg Clifton recently spoke with Law360 Employment Authority for an article concerning how the NCAA’s landmark $2.78 billion class action settlement will affect student-athletes’ efforts to unionize.

The article, titled “NCAA Athletes May Call Time Out On Unions After Settlement,” opens by noting that the NCAA’s settlement of the long-running House litigation – which covers about 184,000 former college athletes – will permit Division I schools to share revenue with their student-athletes to the tune of at least $1.6 billion in payments and benefits per year. Mr. Clifton, who serves as Chair of Lewis Brisbois’ Collegiate & Professional Sports Law Practice, told Law360 Employment Authority that because the settlement provides many of the benefits that college athletes have long sought, they may be less willing to navigate the obstacles to unionization.

"If the student athlete is going to be sharing in that money, what is the goal or the incentive for them to seek unionization?" Mr. Clifton said.

Furthermore, Mr. Clifton said that, because the House settlement authorizes payments to student-athletes that schools were not previously able to provide, it may alter the legal analysis of whether the athletes constitute employees of their schools under federal law.

"That is certainly a point of potential contention because they are being compensated, as authorized by that settlement," Mr. Clifton said.

However, Mr. Clifton said the House settlement will not end all pending litigation concerning college athletes’ employee status. He pointed to an ongoing case over whether college athletes are employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit allowed the plaintiffs in that case to proceed with their claims, which, if successful, could lead to college athletes being subject to federal minimum wage standards.

Mr. Clifton is the chair of Lewis Brisbois' Collegiate & Professional Sports Law Practice, vice chair of the Traditional Labor Law Practice, and a member of the firm's Entertainment, Media & Sports and Labor & Employment Practices. He has extensive experience in the collegiate and professional sports world and has advised numerous professional franchises on a range of labor and employment issues, including Title III ADA regulatory compliance and wage and hour issues. Mr. Clifton is also an editor of The Official Review, Lewis Brisbois’ sports law blog.

Read the full Law360 Employment Authority article here (subscription may be required).