6 former FSU players sue coach over $250K NIL payments that were allegedly promised to them on multiple occasions

Six former Florida State University basketball players have sued head coach Leonard Hamilton, claiming he promised to get them each $250,000 in name, image, and likeness payments.

The shocking lawsuit reportedly stated that players were so upset with the unfulfilled promises that they walked out of a practice before a February 17, 2024, game against Duke University.

The players only played in the game because they allegedly received a guarantee from Coach Hamilton they would be paid by the next week.

According to ESPN, plaintiffs in the suit are Darin Green Jr., De’Ante Green, Cam’Ron Fletcher, Josh Nickelberry, Primo Spears, and Jalen Warley.

The promises of NIL payments were reportedly made all the way back in April 2023, during what was described as an “NIL meeting.” At the time, the coach allegedly promised players they would receive their money by the end of the following season, March 2024.

These promises allegedly factored into the decision-making process of every player on the team, the lawsuit claimed, regarding whether or not they would transfer to or away from the school.

The lawsuit also claimed that the threat of the player boycott “panicked” Coach Hamilton, who stated that unspecified business partners would still come through with the money.

‘I’m telling you the sad truth …’

Yahoo Sports reported on text messages that showed players were in contact with Will Cowen, an executive with one of Florida State’s NIL collectives.

“I’m busting my ass every day for you guys. I’m meeting with the top donor in the entire booster organization Friday after trying to get us a little bit more each day,” Cowen reportedly told the players.

Cowen told player Green in another message, “Crossing my fingers that I can shake loose at least 10 [thousand] for you tomorrow.”

The executive also allegedly told Spears, a 6’3″ guard, “not a penny” had come in despite Coach Hamilton’s promises.

“I’m telling you the sad truth that zero of the promises made to us came through in the past month,” Cowen said.

Other text messages among players also reportedly showed growing resentment toward FSU, with one text saying “[They] f****d up by telling us we was getting 200k.”

Claims against Coach Hamilton included “breach of contract, promissory estoppel (the recovery of promised damages), fraudulent misrepresentation and inducement, and negligent misrepresentations.”

All plaintiffs are seeking $250,000 in damages, with interest.

Blaze News reached out to FSU basketball’s public relations team and Coach Hamilton, and received a response from Derek Satterfield, assistant athletics director for Florida State Athletics:

“Since the beginning of the name, image, and likeness era of collegiate athletics, FSU has maintained a comprehensive compliance education program for coaches and other athletics staff, and a clear expectation of ethical conduct by all in dealing with student-athletes.

Upon learning recently of the allegations made by former men’s basketball athletes, the University has worked diligently to determine what transpired last season. Though our inquiry is not yet complete, at this point we know of no unfulfilled commitments by FSU in terms of scholarships or other appropriate benefits or the Rising Spear Collective relative to NIL payments owed to the athletes.

We support Coach Hamilton’’ right to defend himself against these allegations and look forward to an expeditious resolution of this matter.”

None of the players named in the lawsuit are still with FSU. Green Jr. and Nickelberry are no longer college-eligible, Spears plays for UTSA, Fletcher is with Xavier, Green plays for South Florida, and Warley is a red shirt for Gonzaga.

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