HONOLULU (Island News) — When conversations turn to Name, Image and Likeness in college sports, the focus often lands on eye-popping numbers and national stars.

This year’s Heisman Trophy winner, Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, reportedly earned more than two million dollars through NIL deals — a figure that has become shorthand for how dramatically the college athletics landscape has changed.

But far from the national spotlight, NIL is quietly reshaping opportunity in a very different way.

At the University of Hawaiʻi, athletes are discovering that NIL isn’t only about endorsements or social media reach. It’s about identity, adaptability, and learning how to navigate a world where athletic performance and personal story now intersect.

For kicker Kansei Matsuzawa, that intersection arrived unexpectedly.

Matsuzawa came to Hawaiʻi from Japan to play football, improve his English, and test himself at the highest level of college athletics. Branding and marketing were never part of the plan. Yet in today’s NIL era, those skills have become part of the education.

“As a business… I can apply to the business side,” Matsuzawa said, reflecting on what he’s learned through the process.

That lesson took shape through an NIL partnership with Honolulu Coffee Company, a collaboration rooted not in star power, but in storytelling. The result was the Tokyo Toe Blend, a coffee inspired by Matsuzawa’s journey from Japan to Hawaiʻi and the precision and discipline required of a kicker — details that mirror both his athletic and personal path.

For Honolulu Coffee, the partnership represented a shift in how businesses think about college athletes.

“As we really started to think about his story… and the University of Hawaiʻi athletics this year too,” said Erica Mounsey, the company’s chief operating officer. “We think this is just the beginning of many partnerships to come in the future.”

Rather than chasing national recognition, the company leaned into authenticity — choosing an athlete whose background aligned with its values and local customer base. In the evolving NIL marketplace, that approach is becoming increasingly important. Consumers respond not just to names, but to narratives that feel real and connected to place.

Those same changes are being felt inside athletic departments.

At UH, NIL has introduced a new layer of complexity to college sports — one that requires creativity, coordination, and a long-term view of athlete development beyond competition.

“We’re thinking about, okay, is there… we gotta be thinking about all at the same time,” said Matt Elliott, UH’s athletic director. “We’re putting together packages… a lot of creative problem solving.”

That problem solving reflects a broader reality: athletes are now brands, universities are strategic partners, and local businesses are part of the ecosystem. Success depends not on one viral moment, but on relationships built thoughtfully and sustainably.

For Mounsey, that mindset defines the future of NIL in Hawaiʻi.

“Anything’s possible… with a goal in mind,” she said.

As NIL continues to evolve nationwide, Hawaiʻi’s athletes are navigating it in a uniquely local way — balancing culture, community, and opportunity. For Matsuzawa, the experience has expanded his understanding of what it means to be a student-athlete.

The kicks still matter. So do the wins and losses. But increasingly, so does the knowledge gained off the field — lessons in storytelling, adaptability, and self-advocacy that will carry far beyond college football.

In Hawaiʻi, NIL isn’t just changing the game.

It’s changing what athletes take with them when the game ends.

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.”

“As this matter involves pending litigation, we will have no additional comment at this time and refer you to our previous statement,” University of Georgia Athletic Association spokesman Steven Drummond said.

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.

If you watched any part of Ole Miss’ 41-10 blowout of Tulane, the one common theme you felt was that the absence of former head coach Lane “Benedict” Kiffin was not acknowledged by the home fans; they even appeared to embrace it. It took a while for Rebel Nation to realize it but Kiffin simply was never “one of them” and, while he built the program, he did not measure up to the “Ole Miss family.” Most Rebel fans would probably tell you now they’d rather lose without him than win with him. Kiffin has now been fully exposed and St. Nick (Saban, now known as Mr. Hypocrite) and Pete Carroll, his self-proclaimed advisers, should be ashamed for their comments supporting the manner in which he tried to negotiate his way to both coaching one team and recruiting for another simultaneously. One is the GOAT who ran away from NIL and the transfer portal while the other is a recognized cheater by many. The best part is Kiffin’s LSU Tigers play at Mississippi next year. Good riddance!

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