NEW YORK — The NCAA’s credit outlook has been revised to negative by ratings agency Moody’s as the governing body of college sports deals with an anti-trust lawsuit about the use of athletes’ images and likenesses.
A federal judge in California is considering whether to certify a lawsuit by former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon as a class-action suit. The lawsuit demands the NCAA find a way to cut players in on the billions of dollars earned from live broadcasts, memorabilia sales, video games and in other areas.
The report released Monday says: “The outlook change to negative reflects increasing litigation and regulatory risks that could potentially alter the NCAA’s operations.”
The NCAA said in a statement that its financial rating did not change and it “does not anticipate any substantive issues based on the Moody report.”
