The most consequential football lawsuits active right now include Brian Flores’s racial discrimination case against the NFL, which the Supreme Court has cleared for trial; an $18 million jury verdict against the NCAA in a concussion case brought by a former South Carolina State player; and a new wave of contract fights between universities and players trying to transfer under name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals. Together they touch every level of the sport and are reshaping how coaches are hired, how former players seek damages, and how schools try to hold rosters together.
Brian Flores v. NFL Heads Toward Trial
On May 26, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the NFL’s appeal seeking to force Brian Flores’s racial discrimination lawsuit into the league’s internal arbitration process, allowing the case to proceed toward trial in federal court in New York.1Reuters. US Supreme Court Turns Away NFL Bid to Move Black Coach’s Bias Claims Into Arbitration Justice Brett Kavanaugh was the lone dissenter.2CNN. NFL Supreme Court Brian Flores
Flores, now defensive coordinator for the Minnesota Vikings, first sued in February 2022, alleging systemic racism in how the NFL hires and promotes Black coaches. Former Arizona Cardinals head coach Steve Wilks and former assistant Ray Horton later joined as plaintiffs. The suit names the NFL, the New York Giants, the Denver Broncos, and the Houston Texans.3NFL.com. Supreme Court Won’t Intervene in Discrimination Suit Led by Brian Flores Against NFL
The procedural fight leading to the Supreme Court was about venue. The NFL wanted the case in its own arbitration system, where Commissioner Roger Goodell would serve as the arbitrator. The Second Circuit rejected that in August 2025, with Judge Jose Cabranes writing that the league’s process was “arbitration in name only” and failed to “bear even a passing resemblance” to traditional independent procedures.2CNN. NFL Supreme Court Brian Flores The Supreme Court’s refusal to intervene left that ruling in place.
Discovery is now the battleground. Flores’s legal team has subpoenaed 25 NFL teams beyond the six already named as defendants, serving more than 1,000 discovery requests seeking 24 years of hiring and employment documents.4Wincountry. Brian Flores Lawyers Subpoena 25 Teams in Discrimination Case Defense attorneys asked U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni to reject the requests as “punishingly overbroad.”5The New York Times (The Athletic). Brian Flores NFL Discrimination Supreme Court Appeal An amended complaint filed May 20, 2026, calls the NFL’s hiring process a “closed and highly interconnected ecosystem” of systemic discrimination. Motions to dismiss were scheduled for June 5, 2026.
NCAA Ordered to Pay $18 Million in Former Player’s Concussion Case
In late October 2025, an Orangeburg County, South Carolina jury ordered the NCAA to pay $18 million to Robert Geathers, a 68-year-old former defensive end at South Carolina State University, and his wife Debra. The jury awarded $10 million to Geathers and $8 million to Debra for loss of consortium after finding the NCAA negligent for failing to warn Geathers about the long-term effects of concussions.6NBC News. NCAA Ordered to Pay $18M to Former Football Player and Wife in Concussion Lawsuit
Geathers played at South Carolina State from 1977 to 1980. He was drafted in the third round by the Buffalo Bills in 1981 but spent his professional career on injured reserve.7WIS-TV. NCAA Ordered to Pay $18M to Former SC State Football Player and Wife in Concussion Lawsuit Diagnosed with dementia in 2017, he now requires ongoing supervision and can no longer perform daily tasks like dressing or preparing meals. Physicians who testified said his symptoms are consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).8CBS Sports. NCAA Found Negligent in Concussion Trial, Ordered to Pay Ex-College Football Player and Wife $18 Million
The trial lasted four days including jury selection, and the jury deliberated for just under two hours. Jurors found that the NCAA “unreasonably increased the risk of harm of head impacts” beyond the risks inherent to football, that it “voluntarily assumed duties to protect the health and safety” of Geathers, and that it “negligently breached” those duties.9The New York Times (The Athletic). NCAA South Carolina State Concussion Lawsuit8CBS Sports. NCAA Found Negligent in Concussion Trial, Ordered to Pay Ex-College Football Player and Wife $18 Million
Attorney Bakari Sellers, representing the Geathers family, argued the NCAA knew about concussion risks going back to the 1930s but withheld the information from players and coaches. NCAA trial attorney Andy Fletcher countered that head hits are “inherent to the game” and that the organization’s rules followed the medical knowledge available at the time.10CBS News. NCAA South Carolina State Football Robert Geathers CTE Concussion Lawsuit The NCAA has said it disagrees with the verdict and plans post-trial motions and an appeal.
The verdict matters beyond one family. In 2014, the NCAA reached a $75 million class-action settlement that funded a 50-year medical monitoring program but did not cover personal injury claims or treatment costs. That settlement also barred future class actions, which leaves individual suits like Geathers’s as the primary route former players have for damages.11NYU Journal of Intellectual Property and Entertainment Law. Saving Face, Not Players: The NCAA’s Concussion Settlement
NIL and Transfer Contract Disputes Are a New Category
Direct revenue-sharing payments to college athletes, launched after the House v. NCAA settlement, have produced something the sport hasn’t seen before: schools suing to enforce NIL and revenue-sharing contracts when players try to leave.
Wisconsin v. Miami
On June 20, 2025, the University of Wisconsin and its NIL collective, VC Connect, sued the University of Miami in Wisconsin state court, alleging tortious interference in the recruitment of defensive back Xavier Lucas while he was under a two-year revenue-sharing agreement.12Yahoo Sports. Wisconsin Files Suit Against Miami for Poaching Xavier Lucas While He Was Under Contract With School Wisconsin alleges that a Miami coach and a prominent alumnus visited Lucas at his Florida home with a more lucrative compensation offer. Lucas unenrolled from Wisconsin on May 13, 2025, and enrolled at Miami a week later without using the NCAA transfer portal. His attorney has argued the contract was a non-binding memorandum of understanding; the Big Ten publicly backed Wisconsin’s suit.13CBS Sports. Wisconsin Sues Miami for Tampering; DB Xavier Lucas Transferring to Hurricanes Sparks Legal Battle As of February 2026, the case was still in discovery, with the central open question being whether the Wisconsin court has personal jurisdiction over Miami.14Madison.com. Wisconsin v. Miami Lawsuit Discovery Ruling
Duke v. Mensah
In January 2026, Duke sued starting quarterback Darian Mensah after he tried to enter the transfer portal despite a two-year, $8 million NIL deal. A judge granted Duke a temporary restraining order preventing Mensah from enrolling or playing elsewhere. The parties settled on January 27, 2026, with Mensah reportedly paying a significant buyout to exit the contract.15CBS Sports. Darian Mensah Duke Settlement Flaws NIL Contracts Because the case settled, it produced no binding precedent on whether NIL contracts can actually stop a student from transferring.16Athletic Business. Duke, Former Quarterback Darian Mensah Reach Settlement in Dispute Over NIL Contract
Georgia v. Wilson
In October 2025, the University of Georgia Athletic Association sued to compel arbitration against former football player Damon Wilson II, seeking $390,000 in liquidated damages after Wilson transferred to Missouri in breach of a 13-month, $500,000 NIL agreement.17Sportico. Georgia NIL Lawsuit Damon Wilson Wilson countersued in Boone County, Missouri in December 2025, alleging civil conspiracy, interference with business opportunities, and defamation. His attorneys argue the document was a non-binding terms sheet and that the liquidated damages clause is an unenforceable penalty.18The New York Times (The Athletic). Damon Wilson Lawsuit Georgia Missouri NIL It’s the first known case of a school taking a player to court over an NIL buyout, and the first time a player has countersued a school over an NIL deal.
Where the House v. NCAA Settlement Stands
The $2.8 billion House v. NCAA antitrust settlement received final approval from U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken on June 6, 2025. Revenue-sharing payments to athletes began July 1, 2025. Under the deal, the NCAA will pay nearly $2.8 billion in back damages over 10 years to athletes who competed between 2016 and 2025, and schools may make direct payments to current athletes up to an annual cap that started at roughly $20.5 million for 2025-26.19ESPN. Judge Grants Final Approval House v. NCAA Settlement
Approval didn’t end the fight. Three consolidated appeals are pending before the Ninth Circuit, filed by groups of female student-athletes who argue the deal violates Title IX because over 90% of the damages fund is allocated to male football and basketball players. Those appeals have triggered an automatic stay on back-pay distributions but haven’t halted prospective revenue-sharing payments. The NCAA argues Title IX does not apply to antitrust settlements and that settlements need not treat all class members equally.20Sportico. NCAA House Settlement Appeal
Enforcement has stalled too. The College Sports Commission, led by CEO Bryan Seeley, has struggled to get schools to sign its University Participation Agreement. State attorneys general from Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Ohio, and other states issued a formal letter in December 2025 opposing provisions that would let the Commission strip schools of conference revenue and impose postseason bans if any state official or third party brought litigation “related in any way” to Commission rules. As of early 2026, most schools had not signed, and the Commission shifted to informal investigations of possible NIL violations at schools including LSU and Nebraska.21The New York Times (The Athletic). CSC Participation Agreement College Sports Enforcement
Other Active Football Lawsuits Worth Knowing
Devin Green v. University of Utah
Former Utah running back Devin Green filed a federal lawsuit in February 2026 alleging that the football program discriminated against him because of his Type 1 diabetes, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.22The Salt Lake Tribune. Former Utah Utes Player With Diabetes Files Lawsuit Green, who transferred from UNLV in spring 2025, alleges that running backs coach Mark Atuaia limited his practice time, excluded him from full-contact drills, and barred him from dressing for or traveling to most games in 2025. The complaint says Atuaia told him he was “scared” to play Green because of his condition and later directed him to enter the transfer portal.23Sports Litigation Alert. University of Utah Athlete’s Claim Calls Into Question Disability Laws Former head coach Kyle Whittingham and athletic director Mark Harlan are also named. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss, which was being briefed as of June 2026.24PACER Monitor. Green v. University of Utah et al
Cochran-Hernandez v. San Juan Unified School District
On April 16, 2026, former Del Campo High School athlete Riley Cochran-Hernandez filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in Sacramento against former football coaches Jeff Remington and Matt Costa and the San Juan Unified School District. The complaint alleges that coaches pressured Cochran-Hernandez to keep practicing on a torn quadriceps against a doctor’s order, resulting in permanent nerve damage, and that coaches used racial slurs and told players to report students from immigrant backgrounds to ICE “for bounties.”25KCRA. Del Campo Student Athlete Files Lawsuit Over Abuse A September 2025 internal investigation by the district substantiated claims of medical negligence, use of racial slurs, the immigration comment, harassment, and retaliation. Both coaches are no longer coaching at the school.26The Sacramento Bee. Del Campo High Coaches Lawsuit
The Employee-Status Question Behind Everything
Sitting behind many of the college disputes is an unresolved question: are college athletes employees? In Johnson v. NCAA, the Third Circuit ruled in July 2024 that college athletes are not categorically barred from being classified as employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act and sent the case back to the district court under a new economic-realities test.27Justia. Ralph Johnson v. The National Collegiate Athletic Association, No. 22-1223 The case remains active on remand.
In April 2026, the Trump administration issued an executive order titled “Urgent National Action to Save College Sports,” directing federal agencies to develop a national framework for eligibility, transfers, and financial controls by August 1, 2026, and proposing measures to prevent athletes from being classified as employees.28The White House. Urgent National Action to Save College Sports How that order, the Johnson litigation, and the House settlement’s revenue-sharing structure fit together is likely to define the next round of football litigation.