Ed O'Bannon Case Ruling Update: NCAA Announces It Will Appeal Judge Claudia Wilken's Decision

Just days after Judge Claudia Wilken ruled that the NCAA is in violation of antitrust laws, college sports' governing body announced it will file an appeal.

According to USA Today, Wilken ruled Friday that the NCAA must allow college athletes to profit of their name, image and likeness (NIL). The NCAA announced Sunday their intention to appeal, which was expected in the event that Wilken ruled in favor of the plaintiffs.

Ed O'Bannon filed a class-action lawsuit against the NCAA for profiting off his NIL without his consent and without compensating him. The plaintiffs then asked for an injunction instead of individual damages, allowing Wilken to dismiss the jury and decide in the case herself.

After weeks of deliberation, the judge released a 99-page ruling that would prohibit the NCAA "from enforcing any rules or bylaws that would prohibit its member schools and conferences from offering their FBS football or Division I basketball recruits a limited share of the revenues generated from the use of their names, images, and likenesses in addition to a full grant-in-aid."

"We remain confident that the NCAA has not violated the antitrust laws and intend to appeal," Donald Remy, the NCAA's chief legal officer, said in a statement. "We will also be seeking clarity from the District Court on some details of its ruling."

While Wilken's ruling will decrease the NCAA's ability to restrain what a student-athlete receives in return for on-field play, it does not exactly blow the doors off. USA Today reported that Wilken placed limits on what a student-athlete could earn and still prohibited them from getting endorsement deals.

The judge also said any appeal would not delay the ruling, which would take affect in time for the next college football season.

O'Bannon initially included EA Sports and Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC) in his lawsuit, but both settled out before the case went to court. EA Sports agreed to stop making NCAA college football video games as a result, but Wilken's ruling may have opened the door for them once again.

"It should be noted that the Court supported several of the NCAA's positions, and we share a commitment to better support student-athletes," Remy said in the statement. "For more than three years, we've been working to improve the college experience for the more than 460,000 student-athletes across all three divisions. On Thursday, the Division I Board of Directors passed a new governance model allowing schools to better support student-athletes, including covering the full cost of attendance, one of the central components of the injunction. The Court also agreed that the integration of academics and athletics is important and supported by NCAA rules."