A fresh NIL deal signed last week is now at the center of a potential legal battle as Washington challenges the quarterback’s attempt to leave football program.
PublishedJanuary 7, 2026 9:40 AM EST•UpdatedJanuary 7, 2026 9:27 AM EST
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Demond Williams Jr. signed a new NIL contract with Washington just days ago to return for the 2026 season as the Huskies starting quarterback. On Tuesday night, the football program was shocked to see on social media that Williams had announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal.
In a post on Instagram, Williams said that entering the portal was “best for me and my future” where he proclaimed that he was now planning on leaving Seattle.
But there’s one big problem for the quarterback, and it all centers around the revenue-sharing contract he signed with the school.
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His announcement came as a shock to those within the Washington football building, according to multiple sources. When you consider the fact he just signed a new deal, it’s not hard to imagine the reactions within the program.
Sources also told OutKick that the school has no reason to let Williams out of his agreement, which could end up carrying a heavy financial burden if taken to court. Right now, Washington is exploring its options when it comes to legal remedies around the situation.
The crux could come down to whether Washington will now have the rights to his NIL, meaning he would not technically be able to sign the same type of agreement with a different school. This could also mean the Huskies would own Demond’s rights pertaining to NIL, which could lead to Williams paying the school a substantial amount of money to play somewhere else next season.
After passing for over 3,000 yards and 25 touchdowns last season, the Huskies negotiated a new deal for Williams, which he had signed within the past week.
Now, we could have a major battle playing out while the transfer portal continues to produce interesting storylines, along with seven-figure deals.
In the case of Washington, the school uses a template that is provided by the Big Ten in signing Demond Williams. If you remember, this is the same type of agreement that Wisconsin used two years ago when signing Xavier Lucas.
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The Wisconsin transfer ended up leaving Madison, and then enrolling at Miami as a non-student athlete in hopes of skirting the contract.
The school said that Xavier Lucas entered into a ‘binding two-year NIL agreement’ with Lucas, along with a deal also executed between the DB and the Badgers collective.
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For Demond, the school could come after him for liquidated damages in this case. According to multiple sources, Washington is prepared to fight this through legal remedies, while also looking into other schools for potential tampering.
One prominent NIL attorney spoke with OutKick on Tuesday night, and had this to say about where we are now in terms of contracts with schools, compared to past years.
“This isn’t like it was when you were dealing with collectives and funneling money. You are now dealing with legitimate contracts and legitimate attorneys or general counsel from major universities. The stakes are larger, which means the liability is greater.
“If you don’t have real attorneys from the players’ side reviewing your contract, you’re opening yourself to potential litigation.”
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Also, officials at Washington are gathering evidence that another school made contact with Williams after he had signed his new deal with the Huskies.
Even though this does play out behind the scenes every so often, this has been a hot-button topic around athletic departments on Tuesday night. There have been plenty of threats made by athletes, through their representatives, in these cases before pertaining to negotiations.
But, having an athlete sign a deal, and then potentially be shopped around in this era might not end up turning out how Demond Williams might’ve hoped.
