March Madness Legend Sues NCAA

Everyone remembers “The Shot.”

Arguably the greatest March Madness moment of all time. Tied at 74 against UNC, Villanova’s Kris Jenkins trailed his teammate, received an underhanded pass, and sunk a buzzer-beater three to win the National Championship in 2016.

But what happened to Kris Jenkins after his legendary shot?

After a brief stint playing in the NBA G League and overseas, Jenkins was hired by his alma mater as a student-athlete development assistant.

Earlier this month, Kris Jenkins sued the NCAA and six major conferences for limiting athlete pay and his ability to monetize his name, image and likeness while at Villanova.

Here’s the breakdown:

Breaking Down The Complaint

The 127-page complaint begins with a quotation from Jalen Brunson on the “Roommates Show” podcast he co-hosts with Josh Hart:

The complaint also starts with two interesting facts: (i) Jenkins “worked” as a college basketball player for Villanova (sounds like an employee to me); and (ii) he opted out of the $2.8 billion House settlement.

The introduction also states that Villanova estimated the publicity value of winning the 2016 championship was approximately $250M and closer to $1B when factoring in game broadcasts.

Applications rose more than 22% and merchandising sales at the bookstore jumped from ~$600k to $2M.

However, as the complaint notes, the year was 2016 — meaning college athletes were prohibited from receiving any revenue from the university.

Parties

Plaintiff (on offense): Kris Jenkins

Defendants (on defense): the NCAA, Pac-12, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, ACC, and Big East Conferences

Major Claims

Federal antitrust violations:

• Fixing the amount that student-athletes can be paid for the licensing, use and sale of their NIL (at zero)

• Prohibiting student-athletes from monetizing their NIL entirely

• Fixing the amount that student-athletes may be paid for their athletic services (at no more than the value of a scholarship)

• Limiting the total number of scholarships available

NCAA and Big East Continue to Profit from Jenkins’ NIL: