Louisville football QB Miller Moss adds 'fresh voice' to House v. NCAA case. What to know

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Louisville quarterback Miller Moss is the newest class representative in the House v. NCAA injunction relief settlement.

The House v. NCAA lawsuit was originally filed in June of 2020 and settled this summer, creating a new system in college athletics whereby schools could pay athletes directly under a cap of $20.5 million per institution. The original group of class representatives included former Arizona State swimmer Grant House, Illinois football player Tymir Oliver and basketball player Sedona Prince, who attended Texas, Oregon and TCU. While those three are still serving as class representatives, they’re no longer in school experiencing life as a collegiate athlete. That’s where Moss comes in.

“We had told the court that we would work to try to add class representatives during the 10 year period of this system that’s part of our injunction, so that we always had a fresh voice who was in school now to share their views with us about what’s going on,” plaintiff attorney Jeffrey Kessler told The Courier Journal. “In that process, we identified Miller as somebody who we thought is very articulate, very interested in these issues, and really willing to step up and do this job on behalf of all the other athletes for no compensation. Just because he wants to do the right thing for everybody else.”

In simplest terms, Kessler said a class representative provides counsel with a sense of what’s important to class members. In an antitrust class action lawsuit such as this one, class representatives step up to participate in litigation, advise lawyers and review objections.

How is the new revenue-sharing system of athlete compensation actually working? How is it not? What issues need to be raised with the NCAA to improve it? What issues need to be raised with the court? Having someone like Moss who’s “currently receiving new categories of compensation and benefits” as a result of the settlement, which he attested to in sworn declaration executed Oct. 28, helps answer those questions.

Moss said in that same declaration that before transferring to Louisville this year, he wrote his undergraduate thesis at the University of Southern California on “the evolving definition of ‘amateurism’ under the NCAA’s rules, including the changes created by the Alston litigation” and the ongoing House case. The quarterback actually thanked his senior thesis professor Nathan Perl-Rosenthal in his transfer portal announcement on Dec. 2.

His academic interest in these lawsuits, enthusiasm to advise and status as a high profile athlete all made Kessler and co-counsel Steve Berman view Moss as “an ideal candidate.” A starting quarterback playing Power Four football brings a lot of attention to the case and garners the respect of other athletes.

Moss said in his sworn declaration that he’s “already devoted significant time to” reviewing the settlement agreement, pending objections and oppositions to those objections. Kessler said he could not share what kind of insight Moss has provided on the settlement so far because of attorney-client privilege. But Kessler did say they’ve had discussions.

“He’s already been engaged, I can tell you that.

“And, by the way, he has to prepare for a game this week,” Kessler added with a laugh, “as he does every week. So we have to work around his schedule, too.”

Louisville football is 7-1, including 4-1 in ACC play. Moss has thrown for 1,929 yards, six interceptions and 11 touchdowns. He’s also run for six additional scores and connected on 65.3% of his passing attempts.

The Cards are in contention for a College Football Playoff spot with games against unranked Cal, Clemson, SMU and Kentucky left on their schedule. U of L came in at No. 15 in the first CFP rankings, which were released Tuesday night.

While Kessler did not say when he and Berman first started talking to Moss about being added as a class representative, it seems like they connected sometime after Louisville’s sole loss of the season to Virginia on Oct. 4.

“Since we first contacted him,” Kessler said, “they’ve done nothing but win. So maybe he’s good luck.

“Let’s see if we can keep the streak going.”

Reach college sports enterprise reporter Payton Titus at ptitus@gannett.com and follow her on X @petitus25. Subscribe to her “Full-court Press” newsletter here for a behind-the-scenes look at how college sports’ biggest stories are impacting Louisville and Kentucky athletics.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Miller Moss, Louisville football transfer QB, joins House v NCAA case

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