Judge questions restrictions on booster payments to athletes in $2.78B NCAA settlement

A federal judge in California probed the terms of a proposed $2.78 billion settlement of antitrust lawsuits against the NCAA and major conferences, revealing a potential snag in the deal. Judge Claudia Wilken questioned whether payments to college athletes from booster-funded organizations should be restricted. She said she was ‘quite concerned’ about that part of the settlement during a preliminary approval hearing Thursday. The settlement would provide athletes a cut of billions in revenue that flows to their schools. Attorneys representing plaintiffs in the lawsuits, the NCAA and parties challenging the settlement appeared via video conference in front of Wilken.