Former USC football star Reggie Bush has filed a lawsuit against the school, the NCAA and the Pac-12, seeking to recoup money earned using his name, image and likeness during his playing career with the Trojans two decades ago.
In a brief news release announcing the filing by Bush’s lawyers on Monday, the Heisman Trophy-winning running back’s representatives argue that Bush should be paid “to address and remedy the continuing injustice that resulted from the exploitation of Reggie Bush’s name, image and likeness during his tenure as a USC football player.”
“This lawsuit isn’t just about seeking justice for Reggie Bush,” attorney Evan Sellick said in a statement. “It’s about setting a precedent for the fair treatment of all college athletes. Our goal is to right this injustice and pave the way for a system in which athletes are properly recognized, compensated and treated fairly for their contributions.”
NBCLA has reached out to Bush’s lawyers, the NCAA, USC and the Pac-12 conference for comment. A Pac-12 spokesman declined to comment.
Bush became one of the most exciting players in recent college football history during his three-year stint at USC from 2003-05, winning two national titles and a Heisman Trophy, before going on to play 11 years in the NFL.
Bush was stripped of his Heisman Trophy in 2010 after the University of Southern California faced major sanctions related in part to Bush’s relationships with two aspiring sports marketing professionals. The Heisman Trust reinstated the honor and returned the trophy to Bush earlier this year, citing fundamental changes in the structure of college sports over the past 14 years.
Bush is still pursuing a separate defamation lawsuit he filed last year against the NCAA over how the organization described the circumstances that led to Bush’s troubles in 2021.
Former University of Southern California football player Reggie Bush spoke out Thursday following the reinstatement of the Heisman Trophy he won in 2005.
It is unclear how the new lawsuit will affect Bush’s relationship with the University of Southern California, which has been particularly warm this year.
A 2010 NCAA ruling ordered the school to sever ties with Bush for 10 years, but USC welcomed Bush back and returned the Heisman Trophy along with restoring his No. 5 to a place of honor among the eight flags for USC’s Heisman Trophy winners in the Coliseum peristyle. Bush was scheduled to lead the current Trojans out of the Coliseum tunnel in a yet-to-be-determined game later this season.
“We appreciate that the new USC administration is working to remedy the previous administration’s unfair and inappropriate treatment of Reggie Bush,” said Levi McArthur, an attorney who is also handling Bush’s separate lawsuit against the NCAA, “but the delay in resolving this case speaks volumes.”
Bush is the latest former athlete to seek compensation through the courts this year for his athletic career under new rules in college sports.
Denard Robinson and Braylon Edwards were among the former University of Michigan stars who sued the NCAA and the Big Ten Network earlier this month. In June, a group of 10 players from North Carolina State University’s basketball team that won the 1983 NCAA championship sued the NCAA and the College Licensing Company, seeking compensation for the use of their names, images and likenesses.
The NCAA and major college conferences are currently attempting to settle three antitrust lawsuits related to NIL compensation for athletes, with a settlement agreement being reached that would pay $2.78 billion to hundreds of thousands of college athletes.
After vehemently opposing it for decades, the NCAA changed its rules in 2021 to allow athletes to earn revenue through sponsorship and endorsement deals.
