CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Six College of Charleston athletes are appealing a nearly $3 billion antitrust settlement with the NCAA over name, image and likeness.

The settlement was approved last week, clearing the way for colleges and universities to directly pay their student athletes who were previously banned from making NIL money. But some attorneys argue it violates Title IX and that female athletes would not get their fair share in back pay.

Lexi Drumm, Emmie Wannemacher and Savannah Barron have grown up on the soccer field.

It wasn’t until college that they noticed different treatment towards women’s sports.

“The comparison every single day, it became disheartening and discouraging for female athletes and especially myself,” Drumm explained.

Through the $2.7 billion settlement, schools will be able to share roughly $20.5 million among athletes in year one. Of that, football and men’s basketball players are expected to take home the most NIL pay back.

The argument is that more people watch their games, bringing in more revenue, therefore these athletes should be paid more.

While Drumm said she understands the argument, she and her teammates say it’s a product of a much larger issue – disparities in the attention and resources given to men’s and women’s sports.

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“When you give non-revenue generating sports opportunity, they’ve shown that they can produce revenue and it kind of shatters the myth that women’s sports and non-revenue generating sports can’t provide a profit for the school,” Barron said.

While Barron and her teammates said they’ve had a positive experience playing college soccer, they admit it’s hard not to compare female and male athletes.

“Noticing how they traveled from game to game, how we traveled game from game, the days we even played our games, the times we played our games,” Wannemacher explained.

These are all things Wannemacher said she had never chalked up to being tied to Title IX, until now.

“As a female athlete you were just kind of taught this is what you get and you take what you get and run with it,” she said.

For these athletes, appealing isn’t about money. Drumm said it’s about righting a wrong.

“Title IX is supposed to be a safeguard to make sure that female and male athletes have the same opportunities or have equitable opportunities and it’s been so long ignored,” she added.

The three College of Charleston graduates said regardless of their outcome in court, the appeal has sparked important conversations.

They hope it can make a lasting impact and encourage young female athletes to stay in the game.

“Knowing that they’re valued and important can take the whole state of women’s athletics to another level,” Drumm said.

The appeal, along with multiple others, won’t stop universities from paying current athletes starting July 1, but it will pause payments going to former athletes. It would be heard in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The College of Charleston declined to comment Friday.

Privacy Manager

Even with being selective, AJ Dybantsa is winning big in the name, image, and likeness (NIL) arena.

The Brigham Young University (BYU) Cougars basketball player is not only the highest-ranking high school player on the court, he is also the top earner in college basketball — and he hasn’t even officially jumpstarted his college freshman year, notes Athlon Sports. A new graduate of Utah Prep Academy, he will begin representing BYU officially for the 2025-26 college basketball season.

Dybantsa has deals that include Red Bull, which is historic. According to Out2Win, it is the first time Red Bull has signed a male basketball athlete to an NIL deal.

“I think it was a great partnership because it’ll be beneficial for the both of us with the platform that they have,” Dybantsa said on “The Youngins Sports Podcast.” “I think we fit right in with each other, so it’s going to be good. It’s going to be special.”

He later added, “What they had to offer was second-to-none. It was good. It was no really wrongs. I’m smart with it, me and my parents are really smart with it, we don’t want to take every deal. But, the smart ones we gotta take.”

Signing To Nike

Dybantsa is also signed to Nike, with a deal reportedly valued at more than $4 million, according to Sports Illustrated.

“Joining the Nike basketball family is huge. When I was asked, it was a no-brainer… Growing up, watching people that inspired me to wear Nike — to now being part of the same team is an opportunity I don’t take for granted. I can’t wait to see what we can mix up on and off the court,” he said of Nike to Sports Illustrated.

What’s more, Dybantsa is BYU’s first 5-star recruit. So, it should come to no surprise he was reportedly given an NIL package from the school valued at nearly $5 million, as AFROTECH™ previously told you.

It is evident that Dybantsa is building a legacy long before his first tip-off in a BYU jersey.

His current NIL valuation sits at $4.1 million, per On3.