Atlanta attorney Michael McGlamry has reviewed his fair share of settlement agreements over a 30-year career representing plaintiffs in personal injury and wrongful death cases—including former NFL players who sued the league over the long-term effects of head trauma. His process usually begins the same way: examining the release language tucked near the end of the agreement, where the list of parties shielded from liability appears. It’s typically boilerplate—subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors.
But when McGlamry, himself a former college football player, reviewed the proposed class settlement in House v. NCAA at the start of the year, one thing immediately stood out: the words “.”
The CFP, which is neither owned nor operated by the NCAA, isn’t a party to the House litigation. It wasn’t named in the companion antitrust cases of Hubbard or Carter, either. In fact, McGlamry says, it wasn’t referenced in any prior pleadings. So why was it suddenly listed among the entities receiving a liability release?
More puzzling still: “College Football Playoff” isn’t a recognized legal entity. That vagueness alone set off red flags.
In January, McGlamry and Florida-based attorney William Cornwell filed formal objections on behalf of Florida State quarterback Tommy Castellanos. Their argument: The settlement “improperly and deceptively release(s) unidentified parties who are not contributing to the settlement.” In their filing, they noted that the term “College Football Playoff” appears just once in the settlement—on page 13—and is not other defined, disclosed or noticed. Plaintiffs’ counsel offered a brief rationale in their motion to approve the deal, asserting that the CFP is an affiliated entity of the defendants, which include the NCAA and the quintet…
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Publish date : 2025-04-11 04:01:00
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