On May 21, 2025, CBS Sports interviewed Philip Sheng on Zakai Zeigler's suit against the NCAA. The following is an excerpt:
CBS Sports also spoke with Philip Sheng, a partner at Venable LLP and former Division I athlete who represents clients in areas including trademarks, branding and NIL protection.
Does the case have legs?
Sheng believes Zeigler and his representation have "a chance" at winning in the case.
"The lawyers did a great job of checking each of the boxes and using prior cases as a roadmap," he told CBS Sports. "This case is unique from others though because Zeigler didn't play JUCO or in another NCAA division before playing D1. He's asking straight up for a fifth year of Division I eligibility. If I were the judge, the biggest question I'd be asking is: where does it stop? If one fifth year is allowed, do we then allow a sixth? Do we let athletes play throughout grad school? That's the slippery slope argument the NCAA will certainly raise, and it's probably the hardest issue to tackle, in my view.
"The other interesting wrinkle to this is that the state of Tennessee recently passed a law prohibiting NCAA restrictions on NIL compensation," Sheng continued. "While the law does not directly relate to NCAA eligibility rules, it reflects a growing trend of state legislatures pushing back against NCAA authority. It's not surprising that this case was filed immediately after passage of the Tennessee law. It will be interesting to see whether the law influences the judge's decision."
For the article, click here.