Latest news with #Fourqurean
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Wisconsin CB Wins Injunction Against NCAA to Play Extra Year
U.S. District Judge William M. Conley on Thursday prohibited the NCAA from enforcing its five-year rule for D-I football on Wisconsin redshirt senior Nyzier Fourqurean. Conley wrote that the NCAA using amateurism to justify its eligibility rule in 2025 'rings increasingly hollow with elite college football coaches' salaries, television ratings and now NIL money for athletes skyrocketing.' Fourqurean sought a court order by Friday, the NFL's deadline for eligible college players to opt out of the 2025 NFL Draft. Fourqurean can now opt out and, after playing another season at Wisconsin, aim to enter the draft in 2026. More from Anon House v. NCAA Objectors Warn Judge There Is Climate of Fear Meet the Ex-NBA Exec Mediating Michael Jordan's NASCAR Lawsuit Mizuhara Sentenced to 57 Months in Prison for Defrauding Ohtani As Sportico has detailed, Fourqurean's college football career included a 2020 season at D-II Grand Valley State lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a partially lost 2021 season (he played in the equivalent of three games at Grand Valley), and full 2022 (Grand Valley), 2023 (Wisconsin) and 2024 (Wisconsin) seasons. He is set to graduate this December. The NCAA reasoned that Fourqurean is ineligible for the 2025 season since the five-year rule (NCAA bylaw 12.8) limits athletes to four seasons of intercollegiate competition in any one sport. Fourqurean maintains that his 2021 season, which occurred shortly after his father passed away, shouldn't count because he played sparingly (155 snaps in 11 contests). Through Michael P. Crooks and other attorneys from von Briesen & Roper, Fourqurean insists the NCAA denying him a chance to keep playing violates antitrust law. With Fourqurean now set to play another season for the Badgers, Conley noted that 'Fourqurean could earn between $250,000 and $500,000 in NIL.' The judge further observed that, 'though more speculative, it is not unrealistic to expect his draft stock to climb over the course of another year of eligibility from undrafted free agent [in 2025 NFL Draft] to a draft choice [in 2026 NFL Draft] and a higher NFL salary.' Conley reasoned that the relevant market for antitrust analysis is elite college football, if not a narrower market of FCS teams or even just Power Four conference teams (including Big Ten member Wisconsin). The judge described the NCAA and its member institutions, which are competing businesses, as enjoying 'monopsony power'—meaning they are a dominant and unrivaled buyer of football players, because those players 'effectively have no other market to sell their labor,' especially since the NFL forbids players from entering the league until they are three years out of high school. Conley said the NCAA's five-year rule 'has an anticompetitive effect' on the market for college football players by limiting who is eligible. The NCAA disagreed, arguing the five-year rule doesn't reduce the number of roster spots, as an excluded player will be replaced by an eligible one. But Conley concluded NIL is a differentiating factor, since 'higher profile athletes like [Fourqurean can] earn a rapidly growing pie of NIL compensation.' The judge also underscored how one additional season to earn NIL 'may be life changing for at least some' D-I athletes, especially those whose marketability is at its 'apex' toward the end of their collegiate careers. Fourqurean, the judge notes, is a good example of why the denial of NIL opportunities could be especially harmful. Fourqurean is not a top NFL prospect at this point; he might never play a down in the league. But Fourqurean could earn hundreds of thousands of dollars in NIL as a seasoned college athlete at a major football program in 2025. Conley cautioned that while college athletes can earn NIL money, that doesn't mean they are pro athletes. He stressed that linking a football player's 'athletic career to ordinary degree progression' meaningfully distinguishes D-I football from the NFL. The judge also concurred with testimony offered by an NCAA expert witness, Cal Berkeley economics professor Matthew Backus, who wrote, 'a less differentiated athletic product where athletes are older and less aligned with standard collegiate progression may reduce fan interest and ultimately resources invested in student-athletes.' To those points, Conley rejected Fourqurean's proposal that NCAA D-I eligibility clock begin when an athlete registers for a class at D-I school. That proposal, Conley wrote, 'would arguably all but end any distinction between college and professional football.' The judge went on to hypothesize about a 30-year-old 'college veteran' who played four seasons in D-III, four seasons in D-II and then four seasons in D-I. Conley said some players could seek that path to maximize their NIL payoff, 'despite the chance of catching on at the professional level diminishing in likelihood as the athlete grows older.' Conley warned such a scenario would diminish the NCAA's differentiated product to 'the point that college football programs would likely become nothing more than a minor league feeder system for the NFL where players develop for years (or even a decade) until they have optimized their chances of being drafted and sticking on an NFL roster.' A related concern, the judge noted, is 'the prospect that Division II and Division III football programs would become nothing more than minor league teams for the most powerful Division I football programs.' Conley thus did not order the NCAA to scrap its five-year rule, but said the NCAA 'must have meaningful exceptions to its rule to avoid unfairness to student-athletes whose individual circumstances may justify a departure.' He also observed that the NCAA's own practices show flexibility can work, pointing out that its rules already allow D-I football teams 'to fill roster spots with experienced, transfer players, crowding out younger athletes.' Conley's observations are consistent with those offered by other federal judges, including U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in NCAA v. Alston and Chief U.S. District Judge William L. Campbell Jr. in Pavia v. NCAA. These judges view big-time college football players as occupying a labor market that antitrust law ought to protect. In a statement shared with Sportico, an NCAA spokesperson said Conley's ruling will bring negative consequences, and it supplies additional reasons for Congress to advance reforms that stabilize college sports. 'The NCAA supports all student-athletes maximizing their name, image and likeness potential, but today's ruling creates even more uncertainty and may lead to countless high school students losing opportunities to compete in college athletics,' the statement read. 'The NCAA and its member schools are making changes to deliver more benefits to student-athletes, but the recent patchwork of state laws and court opinions continues to make clear that partnering with Congress is essential to provide stability for the future of all college athletes.' Best of College Athletes as Employees: Answering 25 Key Questions
Chicago Tribune
07-02-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Judge grants injunction allowing Wisconsin CB Nyzier Fourqurean to keep playing this fall
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean was granted a preliminary injunction on Thursday that would allow him to maintain his college eligibility and continue playing for the Badgers this fall. U.S. District Judge William Conley issued his ruling two days after Fourqurean argued at a hearing that the two seasons he played at Division II program Grand Valley State shouldn't count against his college eligibility. The judge ruled the night before the Friday deadline that Fourqurean faced for opting out of consideration for the NFL draft. Fourqurean took his case to court last week after the NCAA denied Wisconsin's request for a waiver granting him another year of eligibility. Fourqurean had argued the NCAA is violating federal antitrust law by not granting him a waiver and by limiting his economic opportunities to receive name, image and likeness benefits because of his prior attendance at a Division II school. Conley wrote that he granted the injunction because Fourqurean's claim was 'likely to succeed' and that he 'would suffer irreparable injury without injunctive relief.' 'The NCAA supports all student-athletes maximizing their name, image and likeness potential, but today's ruling creates even more uncertainty and may lead to countless high school students losing opportunities to compete in college athletics,' the NCAA said in a statement responding to the ruling. 'Altering the enforcement of foundational eligibility rules — approved and supported by membership leaders — that are designed to help ensure competition is safe and fair for current and future student-athletes makes a shifting environment even more unsettled. 'The NCAA and its member schools are making changes to deliver more benefits to student-athletes, but the recent patchwork of state laws and court opinions continues to make clear that partnering with Congress is essential to provide stability for the future of all college athletes.' Fourqurean enrolled at Grand Valley State in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the season. He then played at Grand Valley State in 2021 and 2022 before transferring to Wisconsin in 2023. In the complaint he filed last week, Fourqurean noted that the death of his father in the summer of 2021 impacted his mental health and limited his offseason training. Fourqurean participated in 11 games for Grand Valley State but played only 155 snaps. Fourqurean said at Tuesday's hearing that he earned $5,000 from NIL in 2023 and $45,000 in 2024, and that he could make 'hundreds of thousands' by playing for Wisconsin in 2025, though he acknowledged he had no signed contract. He said he received no NIL benefits at Grand Valley State. Lawyers for Fourqurean released a declaration from Christopher Overton, a sports marketing consultant who said Fourqurean could make 'something north of $250,000, and maybe as high as $500,000' by playing at Wisconsin this fall. Fourqurean said he would probably be a late-round pick or undrafted free agent if he entered the draft this year. Fourqurean's lawyers also issued a declaration from Matt Mitchell, who coached Fourqurean at Grand Valley State and said the cornerback was forced into action in 2021 because of injuries to other players but wasn't 'physically ready or in a great mental head space.' 'In most normal years as a D2 head coach, he would not have played,' Mitchell said. Conley noted the NCAA's concern that granting Fourqurean relief could 'open the floodgates of litigation by encouraging every student-athlete dissatisfied with defendant's waiver denial to come to court,' he pointed out this was a narrow ruling preventing the NCAA from applying its eligibility rule 'against this plaintiff without demonstrating that his unique circumstances should not give rise to an exception.' This ruling comes less than two months after a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction enabling Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, who spent two years at a junior college, to get another year of eligibility. The NCAA is appealing the Pavia case but also issued a waiver enabling athletes who played at a non-NCAA school for more than one year to compete for one more year if they otherwise would have exhausted their eligibility in 2024-25. Fourqurean had 51 tackles and one interception last season while starting all 12 games for Wisconsin. He started five of the Badgers' last six games in 2023.
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Judge grants injunction allowing Wisconsin CB Nyzier Fourqurean to keep playing this fall
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean was granted a preliminary injunction on Thursday that would allow him to maintain his college eligibility and continue playing for the Badgers this fall. U.S. District Judge William Conley issued his ruling two days after Fourqurean argued at a hearing that the two seasons he played at Division II program Grand Valley State shouldn't count against his college eligibility. The judge ruled the night before the Friday deadline that Fourqurean faced for opting out of consideration for the NFL draft. Fourqurean took his case to court last week after the NCAA denied Wisconsin's request for a waiver granting him another year of eligibility. Fourqurean had argued the NCAA is violating federal antitrust law by not granting him a waiver and by limiting his economic opportunities to receive name, image and likeness benefits because of his prior attendance at a Division II school. Conley wrote that he granted the injunction because Fourqurean's claim was 'likely to succeed' and that he "would suffer irreparable injury without injunctive relief.' 'The NCAA supports all student-athletes maximizing their name, image and likeness potential, but today's ruling creates even more uncertainty and may lead to countless high school students losing opportunities to compete in college athletics,' the NCAA said in a statement responding to the ruling. 'Altering the enforcement of foundational eligibility rules — approved and supported by membership leaders — that are designed to help ensure competition is safe and fair for current and future student-athletes makes a shifting environment even more unsettled. 'The NCAA and its member schools are making changes to deliver more benefits to student-athletes, but the recent patchwork of state laws and court opinions continues to make clear that partnering with Congress is essential to provide stability for the future of all college athletes.' Fourqurean enrolled at Grand Valley State in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the season. He then played at Grand Valley State in 2021 and 2022 before transferring to Wisconsin in 2023. In the complaint he filed last week, Fourqurean noted that the death of his father in the summer of 2021 impacted his mental health and limited his offseason training. Fourqurean participated in 11 games for Grand Valley State but played only 155 snaps. Fourqurean said at Tuesday's hearing that he earned $5,000 from NIL in 2023 and $45,000 in 2024, and that he could make 'hundreds of thousands' by playing for Wisconsin in 2025, though he acknowledged he had no signed contract. He said he received no NIL benefits at Grand Valley State. Lawyers for Fourqurean released a declaration from Christopher Overton, a sports marketing consultant who said Fourqurean could make 'something north of $250,000, and maybe as high as $500,000' by playing at Wisconsin this fall. Fourqurean said he would probably be a late-round pick or undrafted free agent if he entered the draft this year. Fourqurean's lawyers also issued a declaration from Matt Mitchell, who coached Fourqurean at Grand Valley State and said the cornerback was forced into action in 2021 because of injuries to other players but wasn't 'physically ready or in a great mental head space.' 'In most normal years as a D2 head coach, he would not have played,' Mitchell said. Conley noted the NCAA's concern that granting Fourqurean relief could 'open the floodgates of litigation by encouraging every student-athlete dissatisfied with defendant's waiver denial to come to court,' he pointed out this was a narrow ruling preventing the NCAA from applying its eligibility rule 'against this plaintiff without demonstrating that his unique circumstances should not give rise to an exception.' This ruling comes less than two months after a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction enabling Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, who spent two years at a junior college, to get another year of eligibility. The NCAA is appealing the Pavia case but also issued a waiver enabling athletes who played at a non-NCAA school for more than one year to compete for one more year if they otherwise would have exhausted their eligibility in 2024-25. Fourqurean had 51 tackles and one interception last season while starting all 12 games for Wisconsin. He started five of the Badgers' last six games in 2023. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: and The Associated Press
Associated Press
07-02-2025
- Sport
- Associated Press
Judge grants injunction allowing Wisconsin CB Nyzier Fourqurean to keep playing this fall
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean was granted a preliminary injunction on Thursday that would allow him to maintain his college eligibility and continue playing for the Badgers this fall. U.S. District Judge William Conley issued his ruling two days after Fourqurean argued at a hearing that the two seasons he played at Division II program Grand Valley State shouldn't count against his college eligibility. The judge ruled the night before the Friday deadline that Fourqurean faced for opting out of consideration for the NFL draft. Fourqurean took his case to court last week after the NCAA denied Wisconsin's request for a waiver granting him another year of eligibility. Fourqurean had argued the NCAA is violating federal antitrust law by not granting him a waiver and by limiting his economic opportunities to receive name, image and likeness benefits because of his prior attendance at a Division II school. Conley wrote that he granted the injunction because Fourqurean's claim was 'likely to succeed' and that he 'would suffer irreparable injury without injunctive relief.' 'The NCAA supports all student-athletes maximizing their name, image and likeness potential, but today's ruling creates even more uncertainty and may lead to countless high school students losing opportunities to compete in college athletics,' the NCAA said in a statement responding to the ruling. 'Altering the enforcement of foundational eligibility rules — approved and supported by membership leaders — that are designed to help ensure competition is safe and fair for current and future student-athletes makes a shifting environment even more unsettled. 'The NCAA and its member schools are making changes to deliver more benefits to student-athletes, but the recent patchwork of state laws and court opinions continues to make clear that partnering with Congress is essential to provide stability for the future of all college athletes.' Fourqurean enrolled at Grand Valley State in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the season. He then played at Grand Valley State in 2021 and 2022 before transferring to Wisconsin in 2023. In the complaint he filed last week, Fourqurean noted that the death of his father in the summer of 2021 impacted his mental health and limited his offseason training. Fourqurean participated in 11 games for Grand Valley State but played only 155 snaps. Fourqurean said at Tuesday's hearing that he earned $5,000 from NIL in 2023 and $45,000 in 2024, and that he could make 'hundreds of thousands' by playing for Wisconsin in 2025, though he acknowledged he had no signed contract. He said he received no NIL benefits at Grand Valley State. Lawyers for Fourqurean released a declaration from Christopher Overton, a sports marketing consultant who said Fourqurean could make 'something north of $250,000, and maybe as high as $500,000' by playing at Wisconsin this fall. Fourqurean said he would probably be a late-round pick or undrafted free agent if he entered the draft this year. Fourqurean's lawyers also issued a declaration from Matt Mitchell, who coached Fourqurean at Grand Valley State and said the cornerback was forced into action in 2021 because of injuries to other players but wasn't 'physically ready or in a great mental head space.' 'In most normal years as a D2 head coach, he would not have played,' Mitchell said. Conley noted the NCAA's concern that granting Fourqurean relief could 'open the floodgates of litigation by encouraging every student-athlete dissatisfied with defendant's waiver denial to come to court,' he pointed out this was a narrow ruling preventing the NCAA from applying its eligibility rule 'against this plaintiff without demonstrating that his unique circumstances should not give rise to an exception.' This ruling comes less than two months after a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction enabling Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, who spent two years at a junior college, to get another year of eligibility. The NCAA is appealing the Pavia case but also issued a waiver enabling athletes who played at a non-NCAA school for more than one year to compete for one more year if they otherwise would have exhausted their eligibility in 2024-25. Fourqurean had 51 tackles and one interception last season while starting all 12 games for Wisconsin. He started five of the Badgers' last six games in 2023.
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Fourqurean says he may get 'hundreds of thousands' if he's eligible to play for Wisconsin this year
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin cornerback Nyzier Fourqurean says he would earn 'hundreds of thousands' of dollars in compensation if he receives an injunction enabling him to maintain his eligibility and play for the Badgers this fall. Fourqurean testified during a U.S. District Court hearing Tuesday. Fourqueran has argued that the two seasons he played at Division II program Grand Valley State shouldn't count against his college eligibility. During the hearing, Fourqurean said he earned $5,000 in name, image and likeness opportunities in 2023 and $45,000 in 2024. Fourqurean didn't specify how much he would earn in 2025 but said it would be 'hundreds of thousands.' On cross examination, Fourqurean said there wasn't a signed contract specifying how much he would receive if he plays at Wisconsin this season. Fourqurean is hoping to get a decision on his request before Friday's deadline for opting out of consideration for the NFL draft. He took his case to court last week after the NCAA denied Wisconsin's request for a waiver granting him another year of eligibility. U.S. District Judge William Conley didn't make a ruling Tuesday but said he's aware of the narrow window he has before the draft deadline. Conley had requested the amount Fourqurean stood to earn because part of the cornerback's case involved the NIL opportunities he would lose by not being granted more eligibility. Fourqurean said he received no NIL compensation during his years at Grand Valley State. Fourqurean's attempt to continue his college career comes after a U.S. federal judge granted a preliminary injunction last month enabling Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia, who spent two years at a junior college, to get another year of eligibility. The NCAA is appealing the Pavia case but also issued a waiver enabling athletes who played at a non-NCAA school for more than one year to compete for one more year if they otherwise would have exhausted their eligibility in 2024-25. A difference in this case, as Conley noted, is that Pavia was at a non-NCAA school during his junior college years whereas Fourqurean did attend an NCAA institution, albeit at a non-Division I level. Conley also mentioned the possibility he could grant an injunction that later could get overruled by another court, leaving Fourqurean without any college eligibility or any opportunity to enter the draft. Michael Crooks, the lawyer representing Fourqurean, said their hope in that instance is that the NCAA would do what it did in the Pavia case by offering his client an extra year of eligibility even as it appealed the ruling. Fourqurean enrolled at Grand Valley State in 2020, when the pandemic canceled the season. He then played at Grand Valley State in 2021 and 2022 before transferring to Wisconsin in 2023. In the complaint he filed last week, Fourqurean noted that the death of his father in the summer of 2021 impacted his mental health and limited his offseason training that year. Fourqurean participated in 11 games for Grand Valley State but played only 155 snaps. Lawyers for the NCAA noted that snap counts shouldn't be taken into consideration because it otherwise would enable any former Division II backup to request waivers for those years. That 2021 season came before a 2023 NCAA rule change that enabled Division II athletes to redshirt seasons in which they played three games or fewer. Fourqurean noted that as soon as he stepped on the field for the first time that season, he had exhausted his eligibility for that particular year. Fourqurean had 51 tackles and one interception last season while starting all 12 games for Wisconsin. He started five of the Badgers' last six games in 2023. His Tuesday hearing occurred on the same day that baseball player Trey Ciulla-Hall, who also began his college career at a Division II school, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts seeking an extra year of eligibility enabling him to play for Maryland this season. Ciulla-Hall played the last four seasons at Stonehill College in North Easton, Massachusetts. The NCAA announced Jan. 28 it was denying Maryland's bid for a waiver granting Ciulla-Hall another year of eligibility. In his complaint, Ciulla-Hall notes that he participated in one game beyond the normally scheduled legislated limits in 2021 'due to considerable confusion regarding the COVID season of competition relief at the Division II and III levels.' The complaint also notes that Ciulla-Hall faced financial challenges that year as he traveled home to help his siblings while his mother was going through an illness. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: and
