Evaluating concern for Miami NIL deals amid John Ruiz, LifeWallet investigation

When it comes to NIL at Miami, the name John Ruiz comes up right away. The LifeWallet CEO and Miami alumnus has been one of the most notable names in the space over the last three years and was named On3’s NIL Most Impactful Person in 2022.

But last week, federal prosecutors opened an investigation into LifeWallet, according to the Miami Herald. The inquiry stems from the company’s annual reports, which showed it made $23.4 million from its business of recovering inaccurately paid insurance claims. However, it fell short of its revenue projection goal of $992 million — leading the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.

Ruiz has spoken out about the story, calling it a “hit piece.” However, On3’s Andy Staples pointed out the story still brings questions about the implications of the investigation at Miami.

“John Ruiz did tweet that this was a hit piece in the Miami Herald, which it’s not a hit peace if they’re just telling everyone you’re being investigated,” Staples told Jesse Simonton on Andy Staples On3. “… Stating the numbers that you have given to people and that, you know, we can see where the stock is trading. Like, it’s not lies. That is where the stock is trading. So I don’t know what that means for for Miami’s NIL situation.”

It’s worth noting Ruiz is not the only donor at Miami, and the Hurricanes said as much in a statement after the investigation news broke. The university has two NIL Collectives currently operating. A third, Bring Back The U, hasn’t updated its social media accounts or website in some time.

LifeWallet has NIL deals with many Miami athletes — from men’s basketball player Nijel Pack to football player Tyler Van Dyke to, last year, women’s basketball stars Hanna and Haley Cavinder. Of course, the Cavinder twins are no longer with the program, opting not to use their final years of eligibility to focus on their off-court business adventures.

Those players who have deals with LifeWallet, though, could be wondering what’s next in light of the investigation.

“Well, I’m sure there are concerns for anybody who has a deal with them because they’re being investigated,” Staples said. “And now, what the NIL deals are for is very small potatoes compared to the kinds of dollar amounts we’re talking about because he had another situation where the guy who originally came up with the name, LifeWallet, the company LifeWallet, that he bought it from wanted 12 and a half million dollars from him.”

Van Dyke is still around, though, and his name came up in transfer portal rumors over the offseason. He ultimately declared he wasn’t going anywhere, but Staples and Simonton wondered how the LifeWallet investigation could be impacting the Hurricanes’ starting quarterback.

“Could have been Alabama starting quarterback, maybe?” Staples said when Simonton asked what Van Dyke could be thinking. “Well, could have been competing to be Alabama’s starting quarterback. But it is a strange situation. We’ll have to keep our eyes on that.”

On3’s Pete Nakos contributed to this report.