Opinion: 10 Problems With Wisconsin’s Lawsuit Against Miami

LOL

Just shy of two months ago, Cameron Anthony Ward stood on a Green Bay, Wisconsin stage, about 140 miles northeast of the University of Wisconsin, celebrating his selection as the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Wisconsin Badgers, who finished their season in November after only mustering five wins, did not have a player drafted until the seventh round of the draft. These are two football programs on two different trajectories.

College football is about two months away from resuming the gridiron battles. But on Friday, the University of Wisconsin picked a different kind of battle: Bucky Badger filed a lawsuit against the University of Miami in Wisconsin state court alleging that Miami tampered with contracts between Wisconsin and its NIL collective (VC Connect, LLC). A copy of Wisconsin’s Complaint is available here (thanks to Margaret Fleming and Front Office Sports). In civil litigation, a Complaint is a document that launches the lawsuit by stating the alleged facts occurred and how those alleged facts were illegal. The full Complaint is worth a read, but snippets are discussed below.

Wisconsin’s lawsuit, the first of its kind brought by one university against another in the NIL era, has a host of problems.

1. Gee Whiz, Who Could be “Student-Athlete A”

At the center of the lawsuit is “Student-Athlete A.” This mystery student is described as a “DI college football player” who “arrived in Madison, Wisconsin for his freshman year” in June 2024, and played in “most games” during his freshman season. But then, this anonymous athlete requested to be placed in the transfer portal, Wisconsin refused, and “Student-Athlete-A” enrolled at the University of Miami anyways.

There is a real need to sometimes keep witnesses anonymous, but this is dumb. Obviously Xavier Lucas is “Student-Athlete A.”

2. Wisconsin is Elevating Its NIL Contracts Above NCAA By-Laws

One of the most startling facts in the Complaint is that Wisconsin admitted that it refused to enter Lucas into the Transfer Portal for no reason other than it believed Lucas was breaching his NIL contract(s):

As Lucas’ attorney previously explained, that’s not how that works:

Wisconsin is obligated under NCAA Bylaws to timely enter into the Transfer Portal any athlete wishing to enter. Wisconsin admitting in court that the only reason it ignored an NCAA Bylaw was because of an NIL contract dispute is astonishing. It’s no secret that the NCAA is losing its influence/respect, but could the Badgers at least be subtle about it?

3. Wisconsin Sued Miami, Not Lucas, But Will Still Drag Lucas (and His Mother) Into Litigation

So if Lucas breached some contracts, why not sue the young man for breaching some contracts? He’s an adult, he signed those agreements, and he’s probably being paid a healthy enough sum that he can hire a lawyer and/or pay some sort of breach penalty.

The answer is obvious…it would be a really, really bad look for Wisconsin to start suing its players. So Lucas is not named as a defendant.

Instead, the Complaint bends over backwards to paint the University of Miami as the villain. While the majority of the Complaint is about Lucas, Wisconsin’s main claims are that Miami tortiously interfered with two contracts – one contract between Wisconsin and Lucas (the “University Contract”), and another contract between the NIL collective and Lucas (the “Collective Contract”). According to the Complaint, the Collective Contract would compensate Lucas before July 1, 2025 when the University Contract would kick-in (after the House v. NCAA settlement was expected to have been resolved).

Even if Wisconsin didn’t sue Lucas, he’s not going to escape being entangled in this litigation. To prove its case, Wisconsin must show that Lucas in-fact breached those contracts. Wisconsin also has to show that Miami’s interference caused the breaches. That second step would be unnecessary if Wisconsin had just sued Lucas! But by crafting the Complaint the way Wisconsin did, Wisconsin is telegraphing that Lucas and his mother will be necessary witnesses who should expect to be subpoenaed in this lawsuit.

The clear message from Wisconsin is this: if any student athlete dare to leave your NIL deal early, if we don’t sue you we will at least sue the school you transfer to, and we will not hesitate to drag you and your mother into the litigation. Wisconsin’s crazy if they think this won’t affect their recruiting.

4. Wisconsin’s Lawsuit is on the Heels of Getting Hit With Recruiting Violations

Speaking of Badgers recruiting, the timing of the lawsuit couldn’t be richer. Just last week, the NCAA announced that Coach Fickell’s staff committed recruiting violations in 2023 for impermissible contact with recruits. Wisconsin football staff members made 139 (!) calls to 48 (!!) recruits in violation of NCAA rules.

The aftermath is that Wisconsin is on a one-year probation, and a former assistant coach and a former director of player personnel were each slapped with a one-year show cause penalty. Boy, it sure would be hypocritical if the lynchpin of Wisconsin’s lawsuit is that Miami had “impermissible contacts” with a student athlete…

5. Fellow Big Ten Member Nebraska Did the Same Thing

While on the subject of hypocrisy, it’s a little known fact that last year the University of Nebraska pulled a similar stunt with a highly coveted prospect. Mac Markway was a four-star, top 250 overall prospect for LSU. Markway played for the Tigers his freshman season, but then abruptly unenrolled five practices into fall camp. A few days later, the story is that Markway worked with a sports agent to secretly transfer without ever entering the Transfer Portal. When interviewed, Markway’s dad said that his son wanted to transfer closer to home. Nebraska Coach Matt Rhule swore that he knew nothing about Markway until he showed up at practice one day asking to join the team.

There’s no reason not to believe the Husker’s story. It’s a nice story, and frankly LSU should be commended for not (publicly) putting up a fuss about Markway’s departure. It has to be disruptive when a highly rated prospect leaves in the middle of Fall camp. Although not reported on, it would be surprising if Markway hadn’t signed some sort of NIL deal with LSU.

But when Xavier Lucas says he wants to transfer near his Fort Lauderdale home because his father was “suffering from a serious, life-threatening illness,” apparently that’s a gross breach of contract. It’s fine when Nebraska “facilitated” Markway’s enrollment outside the transfer portal, but when Miami “facilitates” Lucas’ enrollment that’s “impermissible contact.”

6. If Wisconsin Wins, How Are Athletes Not Employees?

Whether student athletes should be considered “employees” is a subject of hot debate. Classifying student athletes as employees would have a host of implications including entitling them to minimum wage, overtime pay, and a right to form a labor union. The NCAA and its members have consistently taken the position that athletes are not employees. But if Wisconsin has its way and a court agrees that Wisconsin was justified in denying Lucas the right to transfer schools because of a contract with Wisconsin, how is Lucas not considered an employee who can be restricted from talking with other Universities (ahem, employers)? Bucky better be careful what he wishes for.

7. Workout Chats Now Mean You Are Program Committed

One thing the Complaint attempts to demonstrate is that Lucas was 1,000% committed to Wisconsin until big, bad Sebastian the Ibis swooped in and soiled Lucas with impure thoughts:

This only further demonstrates how strained it is for Wisconsin to sue Miami instead of just suing Lucas. Apparently, talking about weightlifting and shooting some social media videos means you’re in a committed relationship. Ask any college student if that’s true. It’s not.

8. Miami Allegedly Outbid One of Wisconsin’s Richest NIL Contracts in History

In one breath, the Complaint alleges that Lucas “was offered one of the largest NIL financial commitments of any [Wisconsin] athlete.” In another breath, Wisconsin alleges that Miami offered “financial terms more lucrative than those included in the [Wisconsin] Contracts.”

So if that’s true, is one of Wisconsin’s “largest NIL financial commitments” in history laughably small, or is Miami just that flush with cash?

By the way, a plausible reading of the Complaint allegations is that Lucas was railroaded into signing a new NIL agreement just days after Wisconsin’s end-of-season throttling by Minnesota, and he quickly realized how badly he got hosed and looked to transfer. If that’s the story, does Wisconsin really emerge as the good guy for low balling teenagers?

9. How Awkward Will It Be When Miami Joins the Big Ten?

The Big Ten issued a statement that it’s “supportive” of Wisconsin in its lawsuit. From the Big Ten’s perspective, it “believes that the University of Miami’s actions are irreconcilable with a sustainable college sports framework and is supportive of [Wisconsin]’s efforts to preserve it.”

The problem is that the next round of realignment is rapidly approaching, and Miami’s brand and strong TV ratings will be one of the most alluring additions. Miami has always been the villain – a role Hurricanes fans accept with glee – so perhaps this lawsuit is just priming the storylines for when Miami joins the Big Ten, not unlike a wrestling heel switching between WCW and WWE. The University of Miami has always been Razor Ramon, right?

Photo by WWE via Getty Images.

10. But Seriously, What Damages?

Ultimately, the lawsuit seeks damages to compensate Wisconsin for the “loss of financial and promotional benefits [Wisconsin and its Collective] anticipated receiving” from Xavier Lucas’ NIL and participation on the football team. How you could calculate the loss of a freshman DB from a 5-7 football team is incomprehensible. How Wisconsin, not Lucas, would lose value because they could not promote his NIL is also incomprehensible. How many tickets will Wisconsin fail to sell to Lucas’ fans? How much will Lucas’ departure hinder the Big Ten from negotiating a new media rights deal? The world may never know…

…because this lawsuit will almost certainly settle. Wisconsin talked tough when Lucas forced his way to Miami, and evidently Wisconsin felt compelled to follow through with this lawsuit. In some ways it’s an important lawsuit because it could shape the future of NIL disputes in college athletics. In other ways, the lawsuit is extremely problematic. Most likely the later will carry the day, the schools will settle, and the Badgers and Hurricanes will be conference rivals a decade from now.