--- title: NCAA Paying Athletes: Appeals Court Issues Mixed Ruling description: The NCAA doesn't need to compensate college athletes beyond paying for the cost of their attendance, a federal court ruled Wednesday. canonical: https://time.com/4055730/ncaa-court-ruling-athletes/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-30T16:17:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T11:23:48.340Z article:section: Sports og:title: NCAA Doesn't Need to Pay Athletes Beyond Cost of Attendance: Court og:description: The NCAA had argued that compensating players would be antithetical to amateur sports og:url: https://time.com/4055730/ncaa-court-ruling-athletes/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b8deb4a0d795e77/69886637196cf4738f0384df/gettyimages-164683205.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: NCAA Basketball Tournament - First Four - Dayton og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: NCAA Doesn't Need to Pay Athletes Beyond Cost of Attendance: Court twitter:description: The NCAA had argued that compensating players would be antithetical to amateur sports twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3b8deb4a0d795e77/69886637196cf4738f0384df/gettyimages-164683205.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # NCAA Doesn't Need to Pay Athletes Beyond Cost of Attendance, Court Rules > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account.  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 30, 2015 4:17 PM UTC  General view of the NCAA logo on the floor during action at University of Dayton Arena on March 20, 2013 in Dayton, Ohio. General view of the NCAA logo on the floor during action at University of Dayton Arena on March 20, 2013 in Dayton, Ohio.Joe Robbins—Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 30, 2015 4:17 PM UTC The NCAA doesn’t need to compensate college athletes beyond paying for the cost of their attendance, a federal court ruled Wednesday. In a mixed ruling for both college athletes and the NCAA, the court also found that the NCAA had violated antitrust laws by limiting what student athletes may receive while playing college sports. The ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit comes more than five years after former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon sued the NCAA for using his name and face on television and in video games without compensation. The NCAA argued that providing players with a share of that compensation would be antithetical to its mission of fostering amateur sports. Last year, a federal judge suggested that players should be able to receive up to $5,000 a year in deferred compensation. Wednesday’s judgment overrules last year’s outcome, but supports the charge that the NCAA violated antitrust laws. “The NCAA’s rules have been more restrictive than necessary to maintain its tradition of amateurism in support of the college sports market,” the ruling read. In a statement, NCAA representatives said they ARE still assessing the impact of the ruling. 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