In a surprising move that, if successful, could lead to much greater financial rewards for many college athletes, lawyers representing former college football and men’s basketball players told a federal court that they now seek to change the way current athletes are compensated for the use of their images.  Read more after the jump.

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In filing to have their lawsuit against the NCAA certified as a class action, the attorneys argued that monies derived from television, video games and other products that use athletes’ names, images and likeness should be shared with players — and can be “temporarily held in trust for those individuals until cessation of their collegiate careers” if the NCAA feels it needs to abide its notions of amateur sports.

No monetary figures are disclosed in the public copy of the motion, filed Friday night in U.S. District Court in California. Heavy redactions of information were made by the plaintiffs. But a source close to the lawsuit — filed in 2009 with Ed O’Bannon and other former athletes — told ESPN that the new angle could deliver “hundreds of thousands” of dollars each year to Division I basketball players.

Football players, who are more plentiful, could get less — “tens of thousands,” according to the source.

“I’m sure the NCAA will go ballistic over this,” said another source, a member of the plaintiffs’ legal team, told ESPN. “This is their worst nightmare, this issue coming front and center this deep into the case.”

Asked why make a case for current players now, the source said, “Now we have evidence. And so much more has happened since we originally filed our lawsuit — new media deals, new scandals.”

An NCAA spokesperson was unavailable for comment.

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