A federal judge issued a landmark ruling in the NCAA/NIL case Friday, blocking the NCAA from enforcing its rules against recruiters who contract with boosters, The Athletic reported.

Judge Clifton L. Coker ruled that the lawsuit filed jointly by the attorneys general of Virginia and Tennessee against the NCAA is valid and requires athletes to enter into name, image, and likeness (NIL) contracts before signing with their schools. The court ruled that the NCAA could be barred from blocking attempts to sign him. Hit Athletic.

“The NCAA's ban violates federal antitrust laws and is likely to harm student-athletes,” Coker wrote in the decision, according to a reporter for The Athletic.

This landmark decision opens the floodgates for recruiters and boosters to try to sign athletes long before they know where they will go to college.

News flash: This is the NCAA's worst nightmare. A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction in a Tennessee NIL case. That means the NCAA cannot enforce NIL restrictions or rules until the lawsuit is resolved or goes to trial.The story of the future

— Amanda Kristovich (@achristovichh) February 23, 2024

The ruling is only a preliminary injunction, so the matter is far from resolved, but for now the NCAA is completely prohibited from enforcing NIL rules until the case is resolved or goes to trial, Front Office Sports said. Amanda Kristovich pointed out. (Related: Livi stars in new documentary series about high-value NIL deals, and we all know why people are paying attention)

NCAA rules previously allowed active NCAA players who were already under contract with a school to sign NIL contracts, but the new decision now allows anyone to sign a branded contract before stepping foot on a college campus. It is now permitted to tie the