Missouri DE Damon Wilson II sues Georgia, setting up landmark player vs. school NIL legal battle
Former Georgia defensive end Damon Wilson II has sued the school’s athletic association, escalating one of the messiest player-school disputes of the NIL and transfer portal era.
In a 42-page complaint filed Tuesday morning in Boone County, Mo., Wilson’s attorneys allege a civil conspiracy involving the Bulldogs and Georgia’s collective to try to “penalize Wilson for his decision to transfer.” The suit alleges that they interfered with his ability to enter the portal and lied about his NIL buyout. The former five-star recruit spent this season at Missouri.
The move is a counter to Georgia earlier seeking to go to arbitration to get $390,000 from Wilson, alleging damages after the player signed an agreement to return to Athens for his junior season before entering the transfer portal a month later.
It’s also believed to be the first time a player and school have taken each other to court over an NIL dispute. The resolution could hinge on Wilson’s argument that the NIL agreement with Georgia’s collective was a binding contract.
“Georgia appears intent on making an example of someone, they just picked the wrong person,” said Jeff Jensen, one of Wilson’s attorneys. “Damon never had a contract with them. I don’t see how Georgia thinks intimidation and litigation will help their recruitment efforts — maybe players could bring lawyers with them to practice.”
“This matter involves pending litigation, and we have no comment at this time,” University of Georgia Athletic Association spokesman Steven Drummond said. “We refer you to our previous statement.”
The backstory
Wilson appeared in 26 games at Georgia from 2023 to ‘24 and was expected to be a significant contributor this season when he signed an NIL agreement last December with Georgia’s Classic City Collective. The terms sheet called for him to receive $30,000 per month from December 2024 through January 2026.
A month after signing the deal, he transferred to Missouri, where he led the Tigers with nine sacks. Because the agreement was contingent upon his staying at Georgia, the collective ended the deal.
In October, the UGAAA filed an application to compel arbitration in Athens-Clarke County, Ga. It alleged Wilson owed $390,000 — the unpaid amount on the deal — in liquidated damages, as spelled out in the terms sheet.
What Wilson’s suit argues
The suit alleges Georgia staffers falsely told multiple unnamed Power 4 programs that Wilson would owe the Bulldogs $1.2 million if he left. That action was “an effort to prevent (other schools) from offering Wilson an NIL agreement, thereby impeding his ability to obtain an NIL agreement from a competing program that was the product of free and open competition for his athletic services and NIL licensing rights.”
It also contends the Bulldogs didn’t immediately put his name in the portal but instead launched an “all-out offensive” to try to keep him at Georgia. Those acts were part of what the suit called a “civil conspiracy” to interfere with Wilson’s business endeavors by the suit’s defendants: UGA’s athletic association, the collective and its two now-former CEOs, Matt Hibbs and Tanner Potts.
The suit also includes a count of interfering with Wilson’s business opportunities and accuses UGA’s athletic association of violating the confidentiality provision of the terms sheet by sharing its contents, including through a public court filing.
Much of the complaint addresses the NIL deal itself. The suit said Wilson and several other teammates were simply told by a Bulldogs employee to go upstairs at the football building to sign the agreement during preparations for the College Football Playoff. Wilson’s filing argues the deal is not enforceable because it says its terms would “be used to create a legally binding document.” That document was not created. The filing also notes that the terms sheet encouraged Wilson to “seek legal counsel” before finalizing a full agreement. If Wilson’s reading is correct, he would not owe the $390,000 the Bulldogs claim he does.
Finally, the suit includes a count of defamation over a line from a Bulldogs spokesperson about expecting athletes to honor commitments. The statement, the complaint said, implies that Wilson was dishonest, which hurts his reputation.
Wilson lost out on endorsement opportunities and NIL revenue and suffered emotional and mental distress caused by the Bulldogs’ false claims, his attorneys allege. He’s seeking a “fair and reasonable amount of damages” for the “financial and reputational harm he has suffered” along with legal fees.
Why this case is important
Georgia’s filing against Wilson this fall was the first known instance of a school taking a current/former player to court over an NIL buyout. And this complaint appears to be the first time a player has sued a school regarding an NIL deal.
The closest comparison is one-time Florida signee Jaden Rashada’s pending lawsuit over a $13.85 million dispute. But he filed that against three individuals involved (including now-former Florida coach Billy Napier) and a booster’s private company; the Gators have not been named as a party in the case.
As the player compensation space evolves in the first year of direct revenue sharing between schools and athletes, disputes will continue to arise. Whether contracts are binding is, to some degree, an open question and affects whether players can essentially act as free agents every year. This case is one of the first, best looks into how the issue might be resolved.
