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The advent of NIL deals has created plenty of headaches for the schools, players, and fans that have spent the last few years attempting to navigate the murky waters of that new era of college sports. Those issues are inextricably linked to the transfer portal, and we’ve been treated to another twist in the ongoing saga now that Wisconsin has filed a lawsuit against Miami over a football player who defected to play for the Hurricanes.
The NCAA had plenty of time to prepare for the seemingly inevitable day when student-athletes gained the ability to profit off of their name, image, and likeness, but the governing body was somehow unprepared for the 2021 Supreme Court ruling that essentially forced it to flip the switch overnight.
While there are technically rules governing the specifics of NIL deals, the landscape still remains a Wild West where schools are essentially allowed to pay players to play with the help of the booster-based collectives that help mediate many arrangements, and it’s spawned a reality where people are constantly hopping into the transfer portal to chase a bag.
We were treated to some drama at the end of last year when Wisconsin DB Xavier Lucas announced his intention to leave Madison after his freshman season only to learn the university had blocked him from entering the transfer portal while pointing to potential tampering to justify that decision.
Lucas responded to that development by withdrawing from Wisconsin and enrolling at Miami while forgoing the portal altogether, and the former threatened to take legal action against the latter while claiming it had evidence parties affiliated with the Hurricanes had illegally influenced his decision to abscond.
According to Yahoo Sports, Wisconsin has followed through on that promise with the lawsuit it filed in conjunction with its NIL collective on Friday, which asserts Miami committed tortious interference by contacting Lucas and persuading him to leave while he was still under contract with the Badgers.
That particular argument is commonly at the center of cases involving disputes between rival companies and corporations, but as the outlet notes, this is seemingly the first time it’s been rolled out in relation to a case involving a college athlete.
The Big Ten threw its support behind Wisconsin in a statement issued to Peter Nakos of On3 that reads:
“The Big Ten Conference is aware of the litigation recently filed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison against the University of Miami and is supportive of UW-Madison’s position.
As alleged, the University of Miami knowingly ignored contractual obligations and disregarded the principle of competitive equity that is fundamental to collegiate athletics.
The Big Ten Conference believes that the University of Miami’s actions are irreconcilable with a sustainable college sports framework and is supportive of UW-Madison’s efforts to preserve.”
We’ll have to wait and see if this impacts Lucas’ ability to play for the Hurricanes this season, and it’ll likely be a while before the case comes to an end. However, it will certainly be worth keeping an eye on based on the potential ramifications.