Winds of change with NIL

[IndianaVol]

Looks like the pendulum may be in motion again.
Georgia is serious about recouping money from a DT that transfered to Mizzou.

Could set a precedent for "buyout" clauses.

Georgia seeks $390K from DE Wilson over transfer

Georgia's athletic department is headed to court to try to obtain $390,000 in damages from a former standout defensive end who transferred from the school after his sophomore season in a potentially precedent-setting case.

www.espn.com

 

[TheGoula]

Awesome!

 

[UT Hill Man]

"The Bulldogs paid Wilson a total of $30,000 from the disputed contract. Because of the way the deal was crafted, Georgia says Wilson owed it $390,000 in a lump sum within 30 days of his decision to leave the team. Drummond declined to comment when asked why the damages being sought are much higher than the amount Wilson was paid."

Shouldn't the Dawgs just sue for the $30K?

What's next - they gonna sue Jared Curtis for causing emotional distress by flipping to Vandy?

 

[utvols74]

Seems like players should get paid per game played divided by the contract amount for that year. If they make it to a bowl game/CFP, the same rate of pay should apply. So if Billy is making $120,000 to play OT and he plays 12 games, he should get $10,000 a game (same amount for bowl game/CFP game). I'm sure its not nearly that simple with agents/parents involved.

On another note, considering Tennessee has no state income tax, I'd hope the coaches play that up as much as possible when compared to Ohio, Penn, Cali, Mich, etc.

 

[TNHopeful505]

I mean, the whole system needs accountability. We went from the schools having all of the power and the players not benefitting (outside of scholarship, room and board and everything else) to the other side of the pendulum, where the players benefit and the schools take on all of the liability.

There has to be a balance. Do I think it's fair that a player can get "paid" for his services, both present and future, and then not be held accountable if he doesn't hold up his end of the bargain? No, I don't. If I accept extra benefits from my employer (say, tuition reimbursement to pay for school, or a sign on bonus), then I am required to either finish out the terms of the benefit, or I am required to pay it back.

There has to be some level of accountability. I'm all for Georgia in this one. Players can get paid, but they also have to have the other side of it of responsibility and consequences. Wanna get paid like pros, then act like pros.

 

[MontyPython]

Looks like the pendulum may be in motion again.
Georgia is serious about recouping money from a DT that transfered to Mizzou.

Could set a precedent for "buyout" clauses.

Georgia seeks $390K from DE Wilson over transfer

Georgia's athletic department is headed to court to try to obtain $390,000 in damages from a former standout defensive end who transferred from the school after his sophomore season in a potentially precedent-setting case.

www.espn.com

This is a total and utter dick move by the Dawgs. The kid only received $30K from them for the NIL deal and now they're trying to collect $390K from the player in what amounts to punitive damages because he transferred.

I doubt an arbitration judge will find for GA, as they have to prove how this kid transferring caused them $390K in damages. And plus this action amounts to liquidated damages which is illegal.

Ultimately, this stupid action by the Dawgs will probably be used as a legitimate tool by other teams against them with recruits moving forward... the premise being that if you sign an NIL deal with Georgia, you are effectively trapped with the team if you're unhappy and will be financially punished if you try to transfer.

Wilson signed a term sheet with Classic City Collective in December 2024, shortly before Georgia lost in a quarterfinal playoff game to Notre Dame, ending his sophomore season. The 14-month contract -- which was attached to Georgia's legal filing -- was worth $500,000 to be distributed in monthly payments of $30,000 with two additional $40,000 bonus payments that would be paid shortly after the NCAA transfer portal windows closed.

The deal states that if Wilson withdrew from the Georgia team or entered the transfer portal, he would owe the collective a lump-sum payment equal to the rest of the money he'd have received had he stayed for the length of the contract. (The two bonus payments apparently were not included in the damages calculation.) Classic City signed over the rights to those damages to Georgia's athletic department July 1 when many schools took over player payments from their collectives.

Georgia's filing claims Wilson received his first $30,000 payment Dec. 24, 2024. Less than two weeks later, he declared his plans to transfer.

Legal experts say Georgia's attorneys will have to convince an arbitrator that $390,000 in damages is a reasonable assessment of the harm the athletic department suffered due to Wilson's departure. Liquidated damages are not legally allowed to be used as punishment or primarily as an incentive to keep someone from breaking a contract.

 

[Hunerwadel]

I thought the payouts were weighted with most of the money coming late in the contract period bc everyone knew this could happen. But what do I know?

 

[unfrozencvmanvol]

"The kid" signed a contract and then welched on it two weeks later. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

 

[VOLdo Raine]

This is just silly. Leaving Georgia to go to Mizzou?

Reminds me of a kid that went to UCLA.

 

[MajinBooCarter]

This is just silly. Leaving Georgia to go to Mizzou?

Reminds me of a kid that went to UCLA.

Was in a rotation at uga, plays jack at missouri and just had a 9 sack season and drastically improved his draft stock, homie made a good decision

 

[MontyPython]

"The kid" signed a contract and then welched on it two weeks later. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

Do you believe he should pay GA $390K in damages? He literally was paid only $30K.

 

[TNHopeful505]

I mean....several things here.

1. Does it make sense that he owes $390K in damages when only receiving $30k? No. But how is this different than a buyout? If Heup decided to leave us for another job, wouldn't he owe, even though he hasn't been paid the full amount? Is it the fact that they're labeling it as damages and not a buyout?

2. Would it be better to start writing contracts for these kids as buyout? That they can leave the contract, but must buy their way out of it. However, if the school terminates the contract, then they can keep whatever money they have made, or the school pays them to terminate?

3. Why in the heck would the stupid kid not read the contract? Like why would you ever agree to such a ridiculous contract?

 

[thehardknoxlife]

If only there was a organization that dealt with this type of stuff for over 70 years that they can learn from.

It's time to add professional to the beginning of student athlete and let's get what's the equivalent to rookie contracts started. Oh, and you're going to have to set a cap or it's going to get really bad.

 

[unfrozencvmanvol]

Do you believe he should pay GA $390K in damages? He literally was paid only $30K.

TL;DR VERSION: Yes, depending on the facts, there are numerous real world scenarios where a contracting partner who breaches the contract can cost you far, far more money than you paid them.

LONG VERSION: Liquidated damages clauses can be fair and necessary in certain situations. Say you are working with someone with some sort of cutting edge technology and you contract with that someone to assist with some aspect of the development. In that situation if that someone broke faith with you and sold this technology to your competitor, then yes, a liquidated damages clause where that someone owed you 10 times what you paid them is probably fair, because they have cost you far more than that.

I can imagine a set of facts in the current CFB landscape where such a liquidated damages clause might be fair. Imagine if we had a QB we expected to come back and at the beginning of the Portal period we locked him in with a new deal and a raise and paid him a 25K signing bonus and then on the last day of the Portal window, the QB transfers to Florida anyway. In that situation not only would UT be out the 25K, but we'd be out the opportunity to obtain a comparable replacement. In such a situation, liquidated damages far in excess of the 25K may be justified. The kid may have cost us a playoff spot and the attendant revenue vs. a Music City Bowl payout. These kids want to be adults making big money, well these are the sort of consequences adults in the business world can face when they sign a contract, take someone's money and stab them in the back.

P.S., we may have lived this scenario with Nico, but it randomly proved to be an upgrade for us. If this suit is successful it may begin to bring some order to chaos because the players and their handlers will finally see some consequences for bad behavior. I don't care what school is doing this, it benefits everyone if Wilson truly signed a contract, took money and then breached the contract days later. That kind of behavior has to be curtailed.

 

[guido4198]

Do you believe he should pay GA $390K in damages? He literally was paid only $30K.

If I read the article correctly, yes… he absolutely owes GA 390k. It appears that is what is in the contract HE AGREED TO.
I have consistently bemoaned the current system afflicting college football. I hate all this kind of s*it, but here we are. If star athletes wanna play hardball with colleges, they better be prepared for colleges to demand they live up to WHATEVER is in their contract. Don’t like it..?? Too F’in bad. This is where the “ game” has gone and it sucks.

 

[EZE]

"The Bulldogs paid Wilson a total of $30,000 from the disputed contract. Because of the way the deal was crafted, Georgia says Wilson owed it $390,000 in a lump sum within 30 days of his decision to leave the team. Drummond declined to comment when asked why the damages being sought are much higher than the amount Wilson was paid."

Shouldn't the Dawgs just sue for the $30K?

What's next - they gonna sue Jared Curtis for causing emotional distress by flipping to Vandy?

If those facts are true, Georgia likely will not get the 390 IMO. But here’s the thing. Litigation is expensive and this kid’s family will have to pay for a lawyer, which isn’t cheap.

An aggrieved party can get appropriate damages from breach of contract, but this seems penal and I doubt Georgia prevails.

This also seems like a frivolous contract claim by Georgia and the player can ask for reimbursement of his attorney fees. Hard to get those rulings, but can be more common in contract cases.

 

[S.C. OrangeMan]

"The kid" signed a contract and then welched on it two weeks later. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

He owes 30,000. Georgia is stupid for trying to get 1,300% of that number.

 

[S.C. OrangeMan]

Looks like the pendulum may be in motion again.
Georgia is serious about recouping money from a DT that transfered to Mizzou.

Could set a precedent for "buyout" clauses.

Georgia seeks $390K from DE Wilson over transfer

Georgia's athletic department is headed to court to try to obtain $390,000 in damages from a former standout defensive end who transferred from the school after his sophomore season in a potentially precedent-setting case.

www.espn.com

This is epically stupid by Georgia. It's the best possible recruiting and transfer "Don't go to Georgia, look what they'll do to you if you try to leave" spin EVER!

 

[WoodsmanVol]

Looks like the pendulum may be in motion again.
Georgia is serious about recouping money from a DT that transfered to Mizzou.

Could set a precedent for "buyout" clauses.

Georgia seeks $390K from DE Wilson over transfer

Georgia's athletic department is headed to court to try to obtain $390,000 in damages from a former standout defensive end who transferred from the school after his sophomore season in a potentially precedent-setting case.

www.espn.com

Heh, heh, somebody got sucker punched.

 

[Illinoisvolfan2]

Good!! I always assumed these players have some kind of contract if they are getting NIL money - this is awesome.

 

[Redheads]

The thing that is interesting to me is how these contracts work. How does a player choose to opt out of a bowl game or any game (to prevent an injury that might jeopardize
their pro career) if he has a contract to play? Can’t wait to see how the “meaningless“ bowl games play out.

 

[allstar34]

I completely support UGA (in this one situation only). I hope they win and this is the catalyst that makes contracts necessary.

 

[EastTNVol6240]

Doesn’t look to be a winning case by Ga. But I do like the accountability this could set precedent for going forward.

Not a good look for recruiting going forward for GA. I’m all about it.

 

[temptn]

.
The only thing that will change is that lawyers will get even more money.
.

 

[BigOrangeMojo]

This is a total and utter dick move by the Dawgs. The kid only received $30K from them for the NIL deal and now they're trying to collect $390K from the player in what amounts to punitive damages because he transferred.

I doubt an arbitration judge will find for GA, as they have to prove how this kid transferring caused them $390K in damages. And plus this action amounts to liquidated damages which is illegal.

Ultimately, this stupid action by the Dawgs will probably be used as a legitimate tool by other teams against them with recruits moving forward... the premise being that if you sign an NIL deal with Georgia, you are effectively trapped with the team if you're unhappy and will be financially punished if you try to transfer.

Wilson signed a term sheet with Classic City Collective in December 2024, shortly before Georgia lost in a quarterfinal playoff game to Notre Dame, ending his sophomore season. The 14-month contract -- which was attached to Georgia's legal filing -- was worth $500,000 to be distributed in monthly payments of $30,000 with two additional $40,000 bonus payments that would be paid shortly after the NCAA transfer portal windows closed.

The deal states that if Wilson withdrew from the Georgia team or entered the transfer portal, he would owe the collective a lump-sum payment equal to the rest of the money he'd have received had he stayed for the length of the contract. (The two bonus payments apparently were not included in the damages calculation.) Classic City signed over the rights to those damages to Georgia's athletic department July 1 when many schools took over player payments from their collectives.

Georgia's filing claims Wilson received his first $30,000 payment Dec. 24, 2024. Less than two weeks later, he declared his plans to transfer.

Legal experts say Georgia's attorneys will have to convince an arbitrator that $390,000 in damages is a reasonable assessment of the harm the athletic department suffered due to Wilson's departure. Liquidated damages are not legally allowed to be used as punishment or primarily as an incentive to keep someone from breaking a contract.

How is the UGA situation different from the following

Let's say it was a coordinator. He got paid $150K for 1 month of work until he got hired away for a HC position. Let's say his buyout was $2M if he left for another gig.

I dont really see how that is any different..