The Western District of Tennessee US District Court granted the final approval for the Cheer Antitrust settlement on 06 December 2024. The federal court approved the defendant’s proposed $82.5 million for charging higher for cheer competition participation, for apparel, and camps.
The settlement administrator released the claim form for the class members to file before the deadline, 05 May 2025; the deadline to exclude or object to the settlement has passed. Class members with a valid claim will receive the cash payment depending on the overcharging they face.
The lawsuit was filed against Varsity Brands, US All-Star Federation, Varsity Spirit, Charlesbank Capital, and others for violation of antitrust laws due to the defendants’ scheme to maintain the brand domination for cheer apparel, competition, and camps. With the control of the market, the prices increased, and the plaintiffs and the class paid for the products.
| Settlement | Cheer Antitrust Settlement |
| Settlement Fund | $82.5 million |
| Who can claim? | Damaged class member who paid for Varsity |
| Claim Deadline | 05 May 2025 |
| Exclude or Objection Deadline | 25 September 2024 |
| Final Approval granted on | 06 December 2024 |
| Maxi. Payout | Not disclosed yet |
| Payment Expectation | Fourth Quarter of 2025 |
| Settlement Website | https://www.cheerantitrustsettlement.com/ |
Who can claim?
The federal court has set the two classes under this settlement; the US people who meet the following eligibility conditions can claim the Cheer Antitrust settlement:
- The Varsity brand customers who paid for the Varsity directly or indirectly via school or gym to register in the Cheer competition or camp, buying Cheer clothing, or accommodations at the competitions during the class period, from 10 December 2016 to 31 March 2024.
- Two classes of the Cheer Antitrust settlement are:
- Damages Class: All the entities or individuals from Arkansas, Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, California, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Idaho, Maine, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, New York, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Vermont, Wisconsin, West Virginia who meet the above conditions.
- Injunctive Relief: All the organizations or individuals of the United States who paid directly or indirectly for the Varsity or its subsidiaries, or affiliates during the class period for cheer competition registartion, entrance fees to USASF, camp fees, apparel fees, or others.
Exclusion:
- The defendant’s parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, executives, employees, legal representatives, and federal government entities are excluded.
- The judicial staff and judges related to the Cheer antitrust class action and their immediate family members cannot file the claim.
- The class members who have submitted the exclusion or objection form by 26 September 2024 cannot claim the settlement now.
Settlement Payout Amount
Under the Cheer Antitrust settlement, the defendant pays $82.5 million to the fund, which will be used to compensate the class members of the damaged class who will submit the valid claim forms. But before that, the administrator will use the fund to cover the following expenses:
- Attorney’s Fee and costs
- Service Awards
- Settlement administration costs and other tax expenses
After the above cost is covered, the remaining funds will be used to compensate the damaged class members. The payout for each claimant is not determined yet, as it depends on the number of claims filed, the charges paid for the Varsity or its subsidiaries, affiliated, and other companies for the cheer competition, apparel, or camps.
Hence, each claimant can expect a different payout amount through the Cheer Antitrust settlement whenever the administrator starts the distribution. The net settlement fund will be divided into three pools for the damage class:
- Purchases relevant to the competition will receive 53% of the remaining fund.
- 21% of the net settlement fund will be used to pay for purchases linked to clothing,
- And the rest 26% of the fund will be used to cover camp purchases.
Injunctive Relief
With the monetary compensation, the defendants, Varsity, have agreed to the following injustice relief that will change their business ways:
- The participation in Cheer Camp will not affect a Competitive Cheer athlete’s or team’s eligibility for end-of-season championship contests. Varsity will offer it at a fair price if completion of the Squad Credentialing Program is necessary.
- The Varsity will not require or create any purchasing arrangements or requirements for the Varsity Family plan, rebate discount program, or network program for the Cheer Competitions.
- If the event information is confidential, the USASF will not disclose the event producer details related to the competition timetable, attendance, or other information.
- The rule for participants to stay at Varsity-approved lodging for at the 35% of the competition to ensure their participation will not be followed now.
How to claim?
The damaged Class members who wish to file the claim for the Cheer Antitrust settlement can file it in the following ways:
- Online: You can follow the steps below to submit the Cheer antitrust settlement claim form:
- You should go to the Cheer Antitrust settlement website mentioned above.
- Next, click the Submit claim on the right-hand side of the page and enter your Notice ID and the confirmation code you received in the settlement notice via mail or email. If you don’t have any ID or code, you can go to the second option of filing the claim form.
- Once you enter the ID and Code, you can access the claim form, fill it carefully, and attach the evidence needed to support your claim.
- Offline: Class members who can’t file the online claim form can go to the official settlement website and download the claim form. Once you have the claim form, fill it out with valid information and attach the supporting documents to send it to the following postal address:
- Cheer Antitrust Settlement
- c/ o Settlement Administrator
- 1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210
- Philadelphia, PA 19103
When to expect?
The Cheer Antitrust settlement of $82.5 million has received the final approval from the court, so after the claim form deadline is passed, the claimants can expect the payout distribution to start by the administrator.
If there is no appeal against the court decision on the Cheer settlement, the class members with valid claims can expect their payment within 180 days or more. The class members should keep an eye on the settlement website because the administrator will share the update about the payment distribution as soon as it begins.