6 former Florida State players file lawsuit against coach Leonard Hamilton over NIL compensation
The plaintiffs allege Hamilton promised each of them $250K in NIL payments from the coach’s "business partners"
Six former Florida State basketball players filed a lawsuit Monday against their former coach, Leonard Hamilton, over unpaid promises of NIL compensation that total $1.5 million and acknowledged within the documents that they boycotted a practice last season over the missed payments.
The legal complaint, filed in Florida’s Leon County circuit court, is an unprecedented and fascinating filing in the era of athlete compensation as roughly half of a former team makes shocking claims against one of college basketball’s more accomplished coaches.
The six plaintiffs — Darin Green Jr., Josh Nickelberry, Primo Spears, Cam’Ron Fletcher, De’Ante Green and Jalen Warley — allege that Hamilton promised each of them $250,000 in NIL payments from the coach’s “business partners.”
The players never received the payments despite Hamilton promising the money to each member of the 2023-24 team in two separate team meetings as well as in individual conversations with some players and their families. Several players transferred to Florida State under the assurance that they would receive the money.
As evidence of the NIL promises, the complaint includes multiple text-message exchanges among players, between players and Hamilton, and between players and Will Cowen, an executive with one of Florida State's NIL collectives.
In one of the more striking revelations, FSU players say they boycotted a practice before a Feb. 17 game against Duke. They “walked out of the gym” during practice to show their frustration over the unpaid NIL promises and they intended to boycott the game as well, the claim says. Hamilton discovered the plan and, in a meeting in the team’s film room, re-emphasized that the money would be in the players’ accounts the very next week. Players competed in the game, losing to the Blue Devils, 76-67.
In several messages to Cowen and in conversations with Hamilton, players communicated that they needed the money to pay taxes, rent and car notes, and that they were “tired of the lies.” In the middle of last season, Green, a team leader, texted Cowen that “this money situation is weighing on a lot of guys and affecting guys on the court” and explained that he was trying to “get the guys to understand” the delay in payment but “it’s hard when they have been told 250 grand.”
FSU finished last season 17-16 and 10-10 in the ACC. The 76-year-old Hamilton has a salary of $2.25 million as part of a five-year contract he struck with the school in 2021. He’s in his 37th season as a head college basketball coach, presiding over the Seminoles program since 2002 and taking them to eight NCAA tournaments and the 2020 ACC regular season championship. This year’s team is 9-4 and 0-2 in the conference and includes six players who participated last season.
The six plaintiffs allege that Hamilton promised each of them $250,000 in NIL payments from the coach’s “business partners.”
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