CSC Wins Ruling on Multimedia Rights Deals as New NIL Review Rules Arrive July 1

By faNILy Team · June 26, 2026

The College Sports Commission got a win in court on Thursday. Magistrate Judge Nathanael Cousins of the Northern District of California ruled that multimedia rights companies that represent athletic departments aren't categorically exempt from the commission's review of NIL deals, according to an Associated Press report published by Fox Sports.

Two weeks ago, we covered the hearing on this question. Here's how it came out, plus a separate rule change from the CSC that takes effect next week.

The ruling

The fight was over whether companies that sell sponsorships and media for athletic departments should count as associated entities under the House settlement. Deals from associated entities get closer CSC scrutiny.

Class counsel for the athletes argued these companies are independent businesses. Cousins rejected a blanket carve-out. "The court will not categorically declare MMRs as not associated entities," he wrote, adding that "it would be too speculative and overbroad to conclude MMRs are not associated entities."

CSC CEO Bryan Seeley said the ruling "affirms that the CSC has been correctly applying the language of the settlement as written."

It's not necessarily the last word. Plaintiffs' attorney Steve Berman told Sportico an appeal was planned to U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken, who oversaw the House settlement, the AP reported.

New review thresholds start July 1

Separately, in a June 23 memo to Division I schools and conferences, the CSC announced changes to how it reviews deals:

Higher thresholds. Starting July 1, deals between $600 and $15,000 won't go through range-of-compensation review until an athlete's associated deals top $50,000 in a year. That replaces the April framework, which exempted deals up to $2,500 until an athlete reached $15,000 in associated deals.
A new model. In early July, the CSC will shift its compensation analysis from confidence intervals to prediction intervals, which it says better reflects natural variation in what similar athletes earn.
Agent "consulting" deals. The CSC flagged agents seeking payments from schools through "consulting" agreements that route money to athlete clients or supplement representation fees, said such arrangements may directly violate NCAA bylaws and said it will investigate financial agreements between schools and agents.

The CSC said the threshold change lets it focus its NIL Go resources on higher-dollar deals.

What it means for athletes

For most athletes, the threshold change is the bigger deal day to day. Smaller deals from associated entities should move faster and face less back-and-forth, at least until an athlete crosses that $50,000 annual mark.

The ruling, meanwhile, means athletes at schools with big multimedia partners should expect those deals to keep getting a close look. Clear terms and a real business purpose matter.

What it means for fans

For fans, the takeaway is that regulators are drawing a firmer line between real commercial NIL and money that's really about roster building. The deals that sail through are the straightforward ones, where an athlete gets paid for something real.

That's the kind of NIL fans can be part of directly, whether it's buying a personalized video or unlocking exclusive content from an athlete they follow.

What's next

Watch for Berman's appeal, the new thresholds on July 1 and the CSC's updated compensation model in early July.