quote:
It's not retroactive, these rules are just clarification.

But beyond that, why do people think the federal court system is somehow the place where these things are decided? This will never see a court room of any level.

The NCAA is voluntary. If A&M or anyone else doesn't like it, they can just leave.

The federal court system is the place to settle it because the NCAA's remaining NIL restrictions might be illegal restraints on trade under federal antitrust law. I say "might" because the NCAA's antitrust violations are historically analyzed by the courts under the Rule of Reason, meaning they may or may not be legal. In this case, we'll see...

In House vs NCAA, DI athletes are suing for NIL damages and for an injunction against the NCAA's remaining NIL restrictions. From the consolidated amended complaint: (House is a combination of three lawsuits)

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5. ...Moreover, even under its interim policy, the NCAA has not suspended enforcement of critical aspects of its NIL restraints, including those restraints prohibiting NCAA institutions from compensating student-athletes for use of their NILs, as well as restraints prohibiting NIL compensation from being contingent upon athletic participation or performance, or
enrollment at a particular school. All of Defendants’ NCAA NIL restraints are unreasonable restraints of trade, are unjustified, and should be enjoined...

32. No procompetitive purposes are served by the NCAA’ NIL rules. They all should thus be permanently enjoined, including those aspects of the NIL rules that the NCAA states it will continue to enforce under its interim policy: the rules barring NIL compensation “contingent upon enrollment at a particular school,” based on an athlete’s “athletic participation or performance,” and the rules barring NIL compensation provided by NCAA institutions in exchange for the use of a student-athlete’s name, image or likeness. These are all unjustified and unreasonable restraints on competition in the relevant labor markets...

That case survived dismissal last year and is in discovery. Class certification will come this year or next and trial is set for 2024. I've no doubt that other people will sue if the NCAA enforces those rules.

Volunteerism has nothing to do with the application of antitrust law. NCAA athletes are voluntarily so yet they successfully sued the NCAA in White, in O'Bannon and in Alston and likely will again in House. NCAA assistant coaches are voluntarily so but they once successfully sued the NCAA for capping their compensation. (Law vs NCAA.) Oklahoma and Georgia are voluntary members of the NCAA but they successfully sued the association for their TV rights. (Oklahoma Board of Regents vs NCAA.) Those were all federal antitrust cases.