Oklahoma Universities 1 Step Closer To Paying Student Athletes Directly

A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction Monday, paving the way for college athletes to start cashing checks directly from their universities. It's the latest decision in a $2.8 billion settlement with the NCAA that is expected to transform college sports.

State lawmakers are working to ensure that Oklahoma college athletes are able to compete on the national scale when it comes to Name Image and Likeness, or NIL. “We know over the last few years that the NIL, The Name, Image, and Likeness Act, is rapidly changing,” said Senator Kristen Thompson, (R- Edmond).

The preliminary ruling is setting the stage for universities to directly pay players separate from NIL deals. “It's definitely the wild wild west,” said Senator Thompson. “My approach on this issue is it's kind of like; you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube, it's here.”

Acknowledging that the frame around the NIL deal and college athletics is rapidly changing, Senator Thompson says she wants to ensure Oklahoma universities have a direct pathway to stay competitive. “The most appropriate thing to do is be proactive and offer our universities to respond because if we do nothing we fall behind,” said Sen. Thompson.

Senator Thompson authored a trigger law, Senate Bill 1786, which allows colleges in Oklahoma to pay players directly if the change was made to federal law or through the NCAA. The law was signed in the 2024 legislative session. “We made sure that we are leaving our universities some freedom to act in the event the situation changes,” said Sen. Thompson.

The idea was brought to Senator Thompson by universities in the state. “The whole idea behind it was how do we make sure that our universities inside Oklahoma can stay competitive,” said Sen. Thompson.

Monday's decision would allow universities to set aside $21.5 million from media rights deals and ticket sales to cut a check to student-athletes. “Of course, there's so many details that are still up in the air, we don't know what it's going to look like,” said Sen. Thompson.

As the future of NIL unfolds, Senator Thompson's ultimate goal is to ensure our universities stay on top. “We would still be positioned to be competitive and make sure our universities and our student-athletes can just compete at the national level,” said Senator Thompson.

The preliminary injunction laid out the following timeline:

1. Oct. 18, 2024: Former players will be notified of the decision, and a claims period will begin for eligible people. Only athletes that participated between 2016 and the beginning of the NIL era in 2021 will be eligible, but it should involve many sports. 
2. Dec. 17, 2024 (60 days after notice): The projected amount of money to be distributed will be publicly available. The final number for specific individuals will depend on a number of factors. 
3. Jan. 31, 2025 (105 days after notice): The window for people to submit claims for compensation, opt out of the settlement or bring objections to the court closes. 
4. April 7, 2025: The court will have a hearing for final approval.