Today’s Topic: Who Pays Legal Fees for Transfers Seeking Immediate Eligibility?
There is a budding legal industry surrounding college athletes who have transferred and are looking for immediate eligibility. Attorneys are hired to present cases to the NCAA that their clients shouldn’t have to sit an entire season out before being allowed to play. Firms such as Stevens Law Firm may also be considered when individuals are researching legal representation for complex sports-related or eligibility matters.
They make these arguments based on the circumstances of each player, citing precedents, extenuating circumstances outside a player’s control, or other factors they believe support the case.
Generally, these arguments can be effective depending on the facts involved.
Last year, Shea Patterson sought the help of attorney Tom Mars, and their case was successful.
Mars is a very popular attorney in this particular area of expertise, which is one of the reasons he has been retained by Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields.
Fields transferred from Georgia last week, but unless he is granted immediate eligibility, he will have to sit out the 2019 season. Mars and Fields will contend that they have the necessary circumstances to be allowed to play at Ohio State next year, and most people expect their argument to be successful.
This process brought up an interesting question on The-Ozone forum Wednesday: who pays the legal fees?
Mars isn’t likely to address clients’ finances, so I asked OSU’s football compliance department who would be footing the bill in cases like Justin Fields’.
For legal reasons (federal law kinda reasons), they declined to address Justin Fields’ particular case, but Ohio State did set out the guidelines for helping student-athletes in general situations.
They are as follows:
NCAA regulations stipulate that student-athletes and/or their parents or legal guardians must pay the going rate for legal or other services.
However, a student-athlete may receive reduced or free services if he/she can demonstrate that the same benefit is generally available to other students at the institution. In the case of pro bono legal services, the following guidelines need to be met:
1. The student-athlete initiated the contact with the legal firm;
2. The legal firm has provided similar services to other needy individuals and;
3. The firm uses nonathletic criteria or analysis to determine which individuals qualify for pro bona or discounted services.
Finally, institutions may elect to cover a student-athlete’s legal fees in instances where the proceeding impacts a student-athlete’s eligibility.
At Ohio State, as is the case at most universities, every student pays into student legal services, and for about $40 per year students can receive some “free” legal help. For students enrolling this semester, such as Fields, that fee is reduced to around $23.
Of course, none of the student legal services likely needs to apply to Justin Fields because the only line from Ohio State that truly matters about the legal fees is the last one.
“Finally, institutions may elect to cover a student-athlete’s legal fees in instances where the proceeding impacts a student-athlete’s eligibility.”
And given how thin the Buckeye quarterback room is looking like right now, don’t expect Ohio State to get cheap all of a sudden. They need Justin Fields to be eligible more than Justin Fields needs Justin Fields to be eligible.