Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/20pdf/20-512_gfbh.pdf
Page Number: 41.0

Cite as:  594 U. S. ____ (2021) 

1 

KAVANAUGH, J., concurring 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

_________________ 

Nos. 20–512 and 20–520 
_________________ 

NATIONAL COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION, 
PETITIONER 
v. 
SHAWNE ALSTON, ET AL. 

20–512 

AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE, ET AL., 
PETITIONERS 
v. 
SHAWNE ALSTON, ET AL. 

20–520 

ON WRITS OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF 
APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT 

[June 21, 2021] 

JUSTICE KAVANAUGH, concurring. 
The NCAA has long restricted the compensation and ben-
efits that student athletes may receive.  And with surpris-
ing success, the NCAA has long shielded its compensation 
rules from ordinary antitrust scrutiny.  Today, however, the
Court holds that the NCAA has violated the antitrust laws. 
The  Court’s  decision  marks  an  important  and  overdue 
course correction, and I join the Court’s excellent opinion in
full. 

But this case involves only a narrow subset of the NCAA’s
compensation  rules—namely,  the  rules  restricting  the 
education-related  benefits  that  student  athletes  may  re-
ceive,  such  as  post-eligibility  scholarships  at  graduate  or
vocational schools.  The rest of the NCAA’s compensation
rules  are  not  at  issue  here  and  therefore  remain  on  the 
books.  Those remaining compensation rules generally re-