it appears we have a player who signed LOI with Gators and wants out due to NIL deal that is less than he expected. I assume the NIL was a verbal offer, so may be not what he thought. How is that going to work, since the official rules do not allow for NIL to be associated with LOI commitment? So how is he going to argue officially he wants out due to NIL failure? I am not sure what entity he goes to in order to get LOI cancelled, and how the NIL failure can be used. Is it NCAA, UF itself or another organization let him out? Who enforces the LOI? He could use his one time free transfer and enter the portal, and I think someone did that last year. He then loses the free transfer the next time he wants it though.
Florida recruit wants out of his LOI based on failed NIL deal?
- Thread starter blion72
- Start date
This is going to be a whole new sector of the law pertaining to "amateur" athletics. On the surface, the kid has a legit gripe. He was promised an NIL deal with a certain comp range and it fell apart after he'd signed with Florida. Grab your popcorn on this one.
This is a cautionary tale of “if it looks too good to be true, it’s probably not true” and “pigs get slaughtered.” The idea that some HS kid was gonna get $13 million to play college football - before he has taken a snap - is patently absurd. NIL as a recruiting tool is a perversion of its stated original intent.
Where these things are falling apart are kids are promised some amount during the recruitment process. Then once committed they sign a contract with the collective. When pen comes to paper, the amounts are less than promised. Sounds like the donor may have backed out in this case. So the amount is now lower. So the kid wants out of his LOI and collective out of contract. Maybe we are witnessing the first lawsuit regarding NIL. It’s coming at some point.
I really like Josh Pate's take on this. Take the contentious parts out of this story (amount of $, NIL, college.... etc) and at the end of the day, there was an agreement and one side (the NIL collective) didn't follow through on the agreement. I don't blame the kid.
But that’s not on the school though, right? Your contract with the school is separate from your agreement with the NIL isn’t it? I wouldn’t let him out of his letter of intent.
you can try to separate them all you want, the ugly truth of NIL is that it and the school are tied at the hip, as much as the schools want to treat it differently. Some schools are better at that separation than others, but they're all tied.
I don't blame him for wanting out
but i do agree that this is where it gets really sticky. if UF says no you're stuck, this is gonna look horrible to future recruits. you could tank your recruiting in a heartbeat by not letting him out of his LOI.
There lies the issue. It's labeled as "NIL" but it's actually "pay-for-play". If it's true NIL, where you go to school should be irrelevant, but we all know these deals are generally not.
I'll bet the kid gets what he wants in the end. Either the NCAA will let him out of his LOI or Florida will get him a big enough chunk of money to stay. Just a gut feeling.
In the part of this country that CFB "just means more" NIL is absolutely Pay to play. Have the universities in that great conferences actually vetted the NIL participants? Rumor has it when its pen to paper time the pockets are like promises "empty".
I hope this all blows up in the face if UF. Including Billy "Sun Belt" Napier and his 100 assistant coaches.
I get what’s going on but the rules are the rules. The rules don’t say you can get out of your LOI if your NIL money doesn’t come in like you expected. Maybe Florida can let him out of his LOI for a percentage of his NIL deal from his next school?
Whoa, no! That definitely can't happen, unless I'm misunderstanding the whole NIL situation (and, admittedly, I haven't read the "fine print" and intricate details of the setup) ... but a university DIRECTLY and FINANCIALLY benefitting from an NIL deal (especially one gone south)? That would appear to be directly violative of everything it's allowed to be. NIL deals aren't provided by the universities. Theoretically, they don't directly benefit. They aren't involved (again, theoretically). If Joe's Auto Sales wants to give Joey Recruit $1M and a car (you know, because that money is great advertising for the business ... wink, wink), and he just so happens to be a big State U. fan who pushes the kid to attend State U, well, then, State U benefits, but they weren't "involved." So, asking for a piece of his NIL deal would be a HUGE no-no.
Not true any longer. With the recent rule changes, the schools and the collectives can work together. Therefore, the school can willingly know that the collective is offering and doing with the SA's.
Florida should just let the kid go and both of them move on. I know if I felt cheated out of several million dollars I’d be a ball of fun to be around. There’s no upside for locker room harmony here. Once again I 
when bad things happen to bad people.
when bad things happen to bad people.
So the NIL deal went south. Why isn’t the kid still going to florida? Did they suddenly do away with his intended major?
If Florida plays the part of the hard-*** and doesn't release the kid from his LOI, some rival schools will certainly use it in the negative recruiting spin machine. "Hey son, UF makes promises it won't keep. You don't want them to screw you over too."Florida should just let the kid go and both of them move on. I know if I felt cheated out of several million dollars I’d be a ball of fun to be around. There’s no upside for locker room harmony here. Once again I
That’s my point. If the school is not allowed to be involved with the NIL deal, then his LOI speaks for itself. It has nothing to do with the NIL. But if we’re going to talk reality, that the NIL deal is of course directly linked to the school of choice, then the school might as well get something back from the kid to let him out of his commitment. Against the rules? Who cares at this point, honestly?
There's a difference between "against the rules" (i.e. NCAA rules) and directly violative of myriad laws.
I think we're generally referencing the same issue, but in the circumstance where the "no so hidden reality" is that the schools are involved and benefitting in these NIL setups, suggesting the schools get to take something further out on the "victim" is wrongminded.
they keep him locked into his LOI, imagine how future recruits would look at it. why would I want to go to FLA when the collective offers something, can go back on their offer, and the school doesn't care. this is going to be VERY interesting to see how this is handled. I mena I know they're supposed to be separate, but....
It was pretty obviously (I thought) facetious.
Who is your “victim” here? The player? I honestly don’t really know much about this situation, but what is making him a victim?
Meh, some of that is nonsense. We hear that premise all the time. “If the school does this, players won’t commit there!” Then they do. We’ve seen it at Penn State.
I’d bet dollars to donuts that the kid has it in writing somewhere…via email, text or a letter.
It doesn’t have to be a formal signed contract to give him legal standing to argue he was misled.
Well, sure. But such a contract wouldn’t be with U of Florida.
Odd as may seem Legally he can be the recipient of an NIL without an athletic scholarship. He could go back to Miami and just pay the tuition, with the 9 mill their boosters were offering he should be able to afford it. That would be hilarious.
It’s a pretty easy argument to make. Attend UF and get $xx million via a UF booster program.
I’m willing to bet the house, business and future earnings on Florida releasing him or making good on the money. No way will they risk playing the role of two faced shmucks.
Maybe, Florida has some bull gator boosters with the ability to cover that NIL with pocket change. My first thought was agreeing with you. Conversely, some of them may be pissed enough at Napiers to just can him, sweep it all under the rug and move on with him as the fall guy. However it’s a little late in the game to scrounge up a new coach with name recognition. Or they could just release Jaden and hope everyone else has a short memory when money is thrown at them. I guess we’ll know soon enough.
Depends on whether Ohio State needs a QB or not. If yes, the kid will get the waiver he needs to become a Buckeye.
Did anyone check the portal? Just because someone tweete that they've entered the portal, doesn't mean that they're in.. School the player currently attends has to physically enter your name (you know, limited. secured access and all that stuff).
Can't enter the portal without satisfying the requirements of the LOI which are: enrolling in the school for which you signed the LOI; and 2) staying there for a year. Florida holds the keys, including those to the physical portal.
The prospect can, of course, appeal. Hope he can find a better lawyer than the one who advised him on his NIL deal.
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