Michael McCann: Feinberg sheds light on FCAA, how compensation could be handled

Renowned mediator Kenneth Feinberg could play a key role and determining how former athletes should be compensated if Ed O'Bannon wins his case against the NCAA or gains a favorable settlement.

AP

In an exclusive interview with SI.com, renowned mediator Kenneth Feinberg sheds light on the Former Athlete College Athletes Association (FCAA). The FCAA is an organization that awaits a world where former college athletes are entitled to compensation for the commercial use of their names, images and likenesses. Should Ed O'Bannon and Sam Keller's lawsuits against the NCAA prevail or lead to favorable settlements, former college athletes would be owed compensation when they appear on classic broadcasts, trading cards, video games, apparel and other products. The FCAA would be ready to assist in the transition and would have procedures in place for former college athletes to obtain their share.

Feinberg plays a crucial role at the FCAA as a board member. Other board members include two of the most prominent advocates for college players' rights, Sonny Vaccaro and Ramogi Huma. An announcement of additional board members is expected soon and there will likely be major names revealed.

Feinberg is a legendary figure in the world of fund distribution. He oversaw the allocation of victim funds for the September 11th terrorist attack, the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster and the Boston Marathon bombings. He is consistently entrusted with the difficult choice of deciding how much money goes to whom. Feinberg's involvement with the FCAA lends it instant credibility and expertise.

With the O'Bannon and Keller cases headed for trial next month, the FCAA might soon become active. Feinberg shares key insights with SI.com on what to expect.

While imaging a world where college athletes are entitled to compensation from the NCAA is a speculative exercise, the FCAA would play a central role in it. The FCAA would demand from the NCAA a share of revenue it generates from the commercial use of individuals who are no longer college students. The share would reflect some percentage of revenue, and there may be varying percentages depending on the type of revenue at stake. For instance, former athletes may be entitled to higher or lower percentages of revenue generated by television and Internet broadcasts of classic games in which they appear, television highlights of their play and computer and video games where avatars representing them are on game rosters. The precise arrangement of percentages would presumably be contained in an order by U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken as a result of O'Bannon winning his lawsuit or in a negotiated settlement between O'Bannon and the NCAA. The funds would be deposited in a "trust fund" for former college athletes, and from there distributed by the FCAA.

The distribution of funds by the FCAA to former college athletes would require formulas, and Feinberg says those formulas, along with associated bylaws and regulations, are "still in development." In other distributions supervised by Feinberg, individuals and businesses have been awarded different amounts of money depending on such factors as type of injury suffered, proximity to the harm, loss of revenue pegged to prior years' averages and quality of supporting documentation. As an illustration, business geographically closer to oil spills have received more money because of proximity, but their type of harm and prior earnings matter, too.

Feinberg has generally received praise for developing formulas that balance equity and fairness, although some have complained his methodologies are too rigid. No matter what formulas are used, some do better than others. The same would be true of former college athletes should they be entitled to compensation. Some would do better than other former players and some would likely complain. Potential factors for formulas are numerous and may include type of sports played, playing time, team and individual exposure on television, statistical performance and public recognition.

Along those lines, it is possible that college athletes at big-time sports schools would receive more from the FCAA after college. This could provide a recruiting advantage for coaches at big time sports schools when recruiting star high school athletes. It is important to stress, however, that until formulas are finalized and revealed, it is difficult to know their possible impact on college sports. Feinberg emphasizes that the FCAA would be "fair" in distributing any money.

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Michael McCann: Feinberg sheds light on FCAA, how compensation could be handled