Big League Advantage files motion to compel arbitration in Gervon Dexter case

Big League Advantage (BLA), the investment capital fund that signed Chicago Bears defensive tackle Gervon Dexter to an NIL contract during his time at the University of Florida, filed a motion on Friday to compel arbitration.

The action comes after Dexter filed a federal lawsuit against the company on Sept. 1 in U.S. District Court in Gainesville, Florida.

A second-round pick in this April’s NFL draft, Dexter agreed last year to pay BLA 15% of his pre-tax NFL earnings for the next 25 years. The commitment was in exchange for a one-time payment of $436,485 in 2022, according to the court filing.

The defensive tackle signed a four-year, $6.72 million contract with the Bears in June, which would mean he owes BLA roughly $1 million over the length of the deal.

In the lawsuit filed in September, Dexter’s attorneys requested a federal judge to void his agreement with BLA and deem it unenforceable because it doesn’t adhere to Florida’s NIL law and athlete agent statute. According to the lawsuit, the company failed to notify Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin of the agreement and BLA agents weren’t licensed in Florida.

In its response Friday, BLA filed a motion to compel arbitration because, under the terms of the deal, any disputes are to be settled by binding arbitration.

Gervon Dexter’s attorney, Nicholas C. Patti, declined comment to On3 on Friday but said it was an anticipated move and his team would respond through its filing due in 21 days.

Along with BLA’s motion for arbitration, BLA also issued a preliminary statement that accused Dexter of including “false and misleading statements” in his complaint.

“For example, the complaint claims that the BLA Fund acted as an unregistered agent even though Mr. Dexter knew (and knows) that neither the BLA Fund nor BLA were (nor are) an agent, let alone his agent,” BLA’s filing stated.