Indicating he is poised to find that Reggie Bush can move forward with his claims against the NCAA, USC and Pac-12 Conference in a lawsuit in which the former USC running back alleges he is owed money for the use of his name, image, and likeness, a judge Wednesday nonetheless took the case under submission.
The Los Angeles Superior Court complaint contends that USC, Pac-12, and NCAA profited significantly from television contracts, merchandise sales and media rights stemming from the 2005 Heisman Trophy-winning player’s football career, for which he was not compensated due to NCAA regulations at the time.
Defense attorneys argued that by taking nearly 20 years to file his claims, Bush cannot recover damages now. But Judge Colin Leis said in a tentative ruling in favor of Bush that the plaintiff identifies several post-collegiate times that the parties republished his college likeness.
“Given the amended allegations, the court cannot … determine as a matter of law whether (Bush’s harms) arise from a single wrongful act during his college career from which all post-college usage was merely additional damage, or if subsequent post-college republications of his name, image and likeness in new projects and business ventures constitute new (harms).”
On Sept. 8, Leis found that Bush’s claims did violate the statute of limitations, but he gave Bush’s attorneys to file an amended complaint that the judge is now pondering. In their court papers, defense attorneys contend that any claims Bush had accrued no later than 2005, meaning that the suit brought in September 2024 was filed at least a decade and a half too late.
“And while (Bush) gestures at several exceptions to the statutes of limitations, he offers no well-pleaded allegations showing a plausible entitlement to any of them,” according to the defense lawyers, who further state in their pleadings that even if Bush’s claims were not time-barred, the details in the case are sparse in support of his allegations.
“Indeed, the complaint contains few facts at all beyond a summary of (Bush’s) playing career,” the NCAA attorneys further state in their court papers.
Bush also was part of a certified class in another case, the defense lawyers continue in their pleadings, adding, “The fact that (Bush) was part of classes that previously litigated similar claims makes it inexcusable for him to have waited over a decade more to bring a similar claim yet again.”
According to the suit, USC, Pac-12 and NCAA profited greatly from television contracts, merchandise sales and media rights stemming from Bush’s football career, for which he was not compensated due to NCAA regulations at the time.
“And while Bush received the accolades, defendants NCAA, USC, and the Pac-12 Conference received all the money,” the suit states. “Millions upon millions of dollars of money, all derived directly from Reggie Bush’s name, image and likeness. To this day, all defendants continue to profit from Reggie Bush’s name, image, and likeness without compensating Bush one penny.”
Bush’s hard work as a college athlete “translated into billion-dollar television deals, multi-million-dollar coaching salaries, extravagant facilities, and lucrative commercial licensing and sponsorship agreements that greatly benefit the NCAA, USC and the Pac-12,” the suit states.
Bush, now 40, helped lead USC to two national championships when he played for the Trojans from 2003 to 2005.
Bush’s Heisman was stripped from him in 2010 amid an improper benefits scandal — but in April 2024, The Heisman Trust announced it was returning the honor to him. The organization said it was making a formal “reinstatement” of the trophy to Bush in response to what it called “enormous changes in the college football landscape,” specifically rule changes allowing players to land lucrative endorsement deals and payment for the use of their name and image.