A group of female college athletes has filed a Title IX-based appeal against the recently approved House v. NCAA settlement, which officially ends the NCAA’s amateurism model and allows revenue-sharing for Division I athletes.

The appeal claims the $2.8 billion settlement, allocating $2.4 billion to male athletes and only $102 million to female athletes, violates gender equity laws under Title IX. “The House Settlement allocates $2.4 billion to men and only $102 million to women,” objecting attorney Leigh Ernst Friestedt told CBS Sports. “This significant dispartity constitutes a violation of Title IX.”

Filed in the Ninth Circuit, the appeal was led by athletes from Vanderbilt, College of Charleston, and Virginia. While the appeal won’t stop future revenue-sharing, which is set to begin July 1, 2025. The appeal could delay the back payments to athletes covering the years 2016–2024.

These payments, totaling nearly $2.8 billion, were agreed upon to avoid $20 billion in damages. The NCAA is responsible for $277 million annually over 10 years, funded partly by reduced distributions to schools.

The settlement introduces stricter regulation of NIL deals through Deloitte’s “NIL Go” clearinghouse. Any unapproved deals over $600 may lead to athlete ineligibility or school penalties.

Deloitte claims it would have rejected 70% of past NIL collective deals. Additionally, revenue-sharing will favor football (75%) and men’s basketball (15%), with only 5% each for women’s basketball and all other sports.