http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college...z2kMMBn8qe

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college...n-lawsuit/

This kind of got lost in the shuffle last weekend, but a federal judge made a huge ruling in the Ed O'Bannon vs NCAA case. The judge refused to certify the case for class action by former players, but certified the case for class action by current players.

Basically, the former players cannot sue the NCAA for compensation as a class, meaning the NCAA won't be on the hook for umpteen millions in a large class action lawsuit, but still could be sued by individuals using the merits of the O'Bannon case - should that turn out in their favor. But since each player would have to do that individually, the reward would be minimal, especially compared to the legal fees that player would incur by such action. So in reality the money for former players is off the table.

But what is still on the table is the ability of current and future players to be able to challenge the NCAA's rules of amatuerism. Those players could be able to form a trade association (read: union) and negotiate with universities for their services, among these would be group licensing deals with TV and video game manufacturers that would pay athletes equally across the board.

While this isn't the verdict the O'Bannon team was hoping for, it certainly does raise the prospect of future NCAA athletes in revenue sports getting paid.