Former Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott has filed a lawsuit against the NCAA and the Big Ten Conference, accusing both of continuing to cash in on his name, image, and likeness without compensation.
At the heart of the running back’s lawsuit — obtained by The California Post — are numerous highlights from Elliott’s time as a star at Ohio State from 2013-2015 that allegedly continue to be used on various NCAA-associated platforms.
Elliott’s time at Ohio State included a win at the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship in 2014.
Elliott has not seen any revenue from the continued use of the highlights, and does not profit from the jersey sales of his #15 Buckeye threads — despite them selling for up to $185 pop — according to the lawsuit.
The documents claim “The Big 10 Conference generated $448.8 million in revenue, a 32 percent increase over the prior year with Ohio State alone reporting 167.2 million,” during the period Elliott played for OSU.
Elliott is seeking damages, although no dollar amount is mentioned, and for “an injunction restraining the NCAA and Big Ten Conference from enforcing their unlawful and anticompetitive agreement to to restrict the amount of name, image, and likeness compensation available to Plaintiff for use.”
Elliott joins Lion’s wide receiver Jameson Williams who launched a lawsuit last month.
Court documents, obtained by Post, show the NFL star sued the three entities in Los Angeles County over allegations they’ve been using his name, image and likeness without properly compensating him for it.
Williams, who played at Ohio State in 2019 and 2020 before finishing his collegiate career at Alabama in 2021, now wants money — and an injunction barring the defendants from using his NIL “for financial or any similar gain or reason without his consent and compensation.”
“Williams has received no fair compensation from Defendants for the full commercial value of his name, image, and likeness. Defendendants continuously financially benefit from Jameson Williams’ name, image and likeness rights, wille also doing so without proving him with just compensation,” his lawsuit claimed.
