A critical hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nathanael Cousins is scheduled for May 27, 2026. At issue is whether multimedia rights companies — including, but not limited to, Learfield, Playfly Sports, and JMI Sports — and major third-party brand sponsors qualify as “associated entities” subject to heightened College Sports Commission (CSC) review. House plaintiffs’ counsel Steve Berman and Jeffrey Kessler have moved to exempt these deals from CSC clearinghouse review, while CSC CEO Bryan Seeley argues that entities directed by schools to assist in recruiting are clearly within the definition. The outcome will have major ramifications on hundreds of millions in NIL deals.