Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard is suing the NCAA. Here’s why

Carolina Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard is part of a lawsuit against the NCAA that seeks retroactive payments for college athletes.

Former Oregon and Auburn track athlete Keira McCarrell is also named as a plaintiff.

A 2019 court ruling, won by Winston & Strawn LLP and Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, required the NCAA to allow schools to provide up to $5,980 in “non-cash education-related benefits,” The Associated Press reported. The decision was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Attorneys involved in the 2019 case who filed the lawsuit Tuesday say up to 5,000 athletes are owed years of payments . They also contend that the number of athletes involved could reach as many as 20,000, meaning damages awarded from the NCAA could be between $200 million and $1 billion, Sports Illustrated reported.

Oklahoma State University, where Hubbard played from 2017-21, announced it would offer the payments in March 2022, The O’Colly, the school’s campus newspaper, reported.

The lawsuit indicates that Hubbard was prevented from receiving the payments due to the NCAA’s restrictions while he was a student-athlete.

A trial for the case could begin in 2024.