USC freshman linebacker Talanoa Ili filed as a plaintiff in the federal lawsuit challenging the House v. NCAA settlement structure, marking the first time an active Power Four player has joined legal action against the proposed $2.8 billion NIL framework. The case, originally filed by Tennessee and Virginia athletes in December, argues the settlement's revenue-sharing caps—$20.5 million per school annually—violate antitrust law by restraining what athletes could earn in an open market.
Ili enrolled at USC in January and has yet to appear in a game. His addition to the plaintiff list gives the lawsuit a live test case: a current athlete at a major program with active NIL deals and realistic revenue expectations. The timing matters. Judge Claudia Wilken scheduled a final fairness hearing for April 7 in Oakland. If she approves the settlement, schools can begin distributing revenue shares as early as the 2025-26 academic year. If plaintiffs win a preliminary injunction—or if Wilken finds the cap structure unworkable—the entire House framework collapses, and athletic departments revert to the current chaos: unregulated collectives, no enforcement, and zero revenue sharing.
The settlement was supposed to create order. Schools would pay athletes directly from a shared revenue pool, capped at 22% of average Power Four media and ticket revenue. In exchange, the NCAA would cap third-party NIL at fair market value, a mechanism meant to curb booster-funded collectives disguised as endorsement deals. But the lawsuit argues this trades one restraint for another. In a true market, a USC linebacker with 1.2 million Instagram followers and a last name recruiters remember could command endorsement fees far above the $20.5 million school pool divided among 400-plus athletes. The cap benefits athletic departments by controlling costs. It does not benefit the top 5% of athletes who could monetize independently.
USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen has positioned the Trojans as an early mover on revenue sharing, pledging to hit the cap immediately once the settlement clears. That pledge now looks premature. If Ili and co-plaintiffs succeed, USC either negotiates individual deals—unlikely at scale—or faces a recruiting disadvantage against schools willing to let boosters operate uncapped collectives. Cohen's department projects $189 million in total revenue for fiscal 2025. A $20.5 million athlete pool represents 10.8% of that number, manageable under current Big Ten media projections. An uncapped system puts USC in direct competition with programs whose booster networks have deeper pockets and fewer compliance qualms.
Three things happen next. First, the NCAA and Power Four conferences file a motion to dismiss or exclude Ili as a plaintiff, arguing his lack of game action means he has no standing to claim damages. That motion will fail—enrollment alone establishes standing under antitrust precedent. Second, plaintiff attorneys depose USC compliance staff and NCAA officials about how the $20.5 million cap was calculated and whether it reflects genuine market rates or cost control. Those depositions, if they happen before April, could produce documents ugly enough to delay Wilken's approval. Third, other athletes join. Ili is a freshman with limited leverage. If a Heisman contender or a projected first-round NFL draft pick files, the case becomes unignorable.
The broader question is whether Judge Wilken ever intended the revenue-sharing cap to survive appeal. The House settlement was a compromise designed to avoid a jury trial that could have awarded billions in back pay. But compromises require both sides to give up something. The NCAA gave up amateurism. Schools gave up cost certainty. Athletes, according to this lawsuit, gave up the market. Wilken has already ruled twice that NCAA compensation limits violate antitrust law. The cap in the House settlement is a limit, just dressed in revenue-sharing language. If she approves it anyway, the Ninth Circuit will likely reverse. If she rejects it, the NCAA faces the jury trial it spent three years avoiding.
USC's spring practice begins March 10. Ili will be on the field. His lawyers will be in Oakland.
The takeaway
First active Power Four player challenges the House settlement's **$20.5M** revenue cap, potentially collapsing the NCAA's entire NIL framework before April.
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