NIL

Johnson Enters 2025 ‘Super Comfortable and Super Confident’

Published

5 months ago

August 11, 2025

By: D. Scott Fritchen

He sits in his lavender suit at a long table with a black tablecloth and in front of a large digital display bearing the Powercat logo and with the end of Big 12 Football Media Days nearing an end at the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas — an eight-hour affair that can test the vocal chords — and Avery Johnson still sits and politely and methodically answers every question tossed his way.

Then somebody lobs him a question about No. 20 K-State facing No. 21 Iowa State in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic on August 23 in Dublin, Ireland.

Johnson unhesitatingly and emphatically knocks it out of the park.

“It’s definitely extra motivation for us knowing we’ve lost to Iowa State the last two years,” he says. “They beat us to end the regular season last year and left a bad taste in our mouth. It definitely doesn’t sit well with me and the rest of our team.

“We’re going to prepare our hardest and go out there and get the win.”

True. K-State suffered a 29-21 loss at Iowa State last season. Johnson completed 12-of-28 passes for 220 yards with touchdown passes of 28 and 65 yards to Jayce Brown and a 7-yard scoring toss to Garrett Oakley. K-State also suffered a 42-35 loss to Iowa State on Senior Day in Manhattan in 2023. Will Howard went 24-of-48 for 288 yards with one touchdown and one interception in that contest.

Matt Wells, K-State’s associate head coach, quarterbacks coach and first-year offensive coordinator, got a vibe from Johnson the first time they met prior to last season, and that vibe has perhaps become more pronounced during the offseason as Johnson, the face of K-State football, stares down his second year as a full-time starter.

“He’s a dog. He’s a competitor. And he has that mindset that he’s the best one out of 22 players on the field at that time,” Wells says. “That’s something you either have it, or you don’t. That’s a special trait that Avery has. He’s a winner.”

Avery 25 SE

K-State is one of only five Power 4 teams to win at least nine games each of the last three seasons with at least one conference championship in that timeframe, joining Alabama, Clemson, Georgia and Oregon.

Johnson, a Wichita native who a year ago guided K-State to a 9-4 record, including a 44-41 win over Rutgers in the Rate Bowl, would like to help keep K-State shining among the best in college football.

Meanwhile, the 6-foot-3 Johnson, who is on the 2025 Maxwell Award Davey O’Brien Award watch lists, says that he will play above 200 pounds for the first time this season while maintaining his 23-mile-per-hour speed, has a chance to prove himself among the best signal-callers in the nation.

Last season, Johnson completed 58.3% of his passes for 2,712 yards and a school-record 25 touchdowns while adding 605 rushing yards and seven touchdowns on 113 carries. He finished fourth in school history in pass attempts (372), fifth in completions (217) and passing yards (2,712), sixth in total offensive yards (3,317) and sixth in touchdown responsibility (32).

He was on fire with three passing touchdowns and two rushing scores against Oklahoma State, becoming the first Wildcat to hit those marks against a conference opponent since Collin Klein at West Virginia in 2012. It was only the 30^th time since 1996 a player had at least three passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns against an AP Top 25 team, earning him Manning Award Star of the Week and Davey O’Brien Award Great 8 honors.

He finished as one of five players in the nation — and one of three from a Power 4 school — to record 2,700 passing yards and 600 rushing yards last season.

CBS ranks Johnson as the fourth-best quarterback in the Big 12 heading to the 2025 season, contending that “Johnson finished with a school-record 25 touchdown passes and yet it didn’t feel like he met the high expectations many set for him as a first-year starter.”

CBS adds: “When he’s on, the Wildcats are a conference frontrunner.”

It wasn’t too long ago that ESPN college football senior writer Pete Thamel on the College Gameday Podcast called Johnson “electric,” adding, “He’s going to be the face of the sport in the upcoming years. He’s got like (NFL quarterback) Anthony Richardson electricity, like he’s rare, man.”

Last week, ESPN listed Johnson as the “most important player in the Big 12 race.” It adds: “If he phases out some of the errors and maximizes the big plays, K-State’s ceiling is higher than 10 wins.”

At the moment, one of the most electric — and likely among the fastest — signal-callers in college football stands center stage in the team theater room at the Vanier Family Football Complex after training camp on Thursday.

Johnson has seen the film. Boy, has he seen the film. Wells says not a day goes by that Johnson isn’t in his office. They talk football. They watch football. Often, they watch football and talk football at the same time as the hours slowly burn away. Both coach and pupil are fiery. They’re like-minded. They look at each other and know what the other is thinking. It’s that kind of bond that they’ve formed through two years of growth. Every offensive play is dissected. Every drop back and every rush analyzed. Virtually nothing goes untouched in Wells’ office.

“I put the weight of the world on my shoulders (in 2024),” Johnson explains to reporters on Thursday. “If I missed a throw, I wanted to get it all back on the next throw. If we got down, I wanted to score a 14-point touchdown. A lot of times, I’d try to be this player I wasn’t and try to fit the narrative of, ‘Oh, he needs to be a passer and doesn’t need to run as much.’ Really, it’s about being myself.

“If the defense gives up run opportunities, I need to make the defense pay and run the ball, and if they give up passing opportunities, I need to be a pocket passer and play to my strengths more. I need to really do what I can do best, which is lead and go out and win football games.”

Which is what Johnson has strived to do all along.

One day, in particular, comes to mind. Johnson sported a tan-and-black Nike hoodie, black sweatpants, black socks and black slides as he stood inside the team theater at the Vanier Family Football Complex. It was February 2, 2022 — 43 days after he signed his letter-of-intent with the Wildcats. One of the highest-rated players ever to sign with K-State — he was the Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year, the No. 1-rated dual-threat passer by Rivals and the 41^st-rated overall player by 247Sports — he exuded confidence, yet was not brash; he spoke, but is not boastful; he smiled, but not too big; and he fit the part of a charismatic leader.

As for Johnson’s goals while at K-State?

“A lot of winning,” he said. “I have personal goals, but to be honest, the team goals mean more to me than any personal goals, whether that’s winning the Big 12 or playing for a national championship. I just like to play football, and I like to win football games.”

That competitiveness? That drive?

It came early.

There was always something different about Avery. When he was 2 years old, he memorized the uniform numbers of his older brother’s little league baseball team. Kids played in the dirt. Avery studied how players swung the bat. When Avery was 3, his basketball and t-ball coaches politely asked his parents if Avery could play up a level. He outraced his older brother’s fifth-grade football team in 40-yard dashes. Mark Johnson tried to put Avery, his youngest child, into competitive situations and exercise his brain. Avery memorized 120 offensive plays. He read defenses, audibled out of plays, found the exact right one, then took care of the rest.

He was in the third grade.

“He beat them every single time,” Mark says.

In the eighth grade, Avery wowed Maize High School varsity football head coach Gary Guzman, who saw the boy in the No. 2 jersey race past the competition for the first time. And he could throw. Boy, could he throw. The possibilities were endless.

“He was just so athletic at that age,” Guzman says. “He has been forever, I guess.”

Avery played on the Maize High School freshman football team on Mondays and played on the varsity team on Fridays. He was an unstoppable force for the freshman squad while serving as backup quarterback to a senior on the varsity team. Oh, he played. He played in every varsity game his freshman year. He threw for more than 500 yards — “pretty good for a freshman part-timer,” Guzman says — while honing his throwing mechanics and learning the offensive system. He had a silky-smooth delivery and put zip on the ball, finding receivers across the field. Guzman inserted Avery into multiple situations, regardless of opponent or score. Didn’t matter. When he took the field, one thing stood out among his many attributes: His leadership. The juniors and seniors responded to him. The Maize High fans cheered for him.

“We had no problem putting him in there at any point during the game,” Guzman says. “I mean, he could get it done. He did great things as a freshman and just kept getting better every year.

“He had long runs. At any point in the game, he’d hurt you. You give him enough time, and he was going to hurt you with the pass. It was no surprise when he threw the ball back across his body right on the money. He had a lot of velocity on the football.”

As a sophomore, Avery threw for 2,109 yards and 25 touchdowns and just three interceptions while rushing for 10 scores on the ground. He earned first team all-state honors after throwing for 2,549 yards and 20 touchdowns while rushing for 1,080 yards and 22 touchdowns as a junior. As a senior, he threw for 2,768 yards and 29 touchdowns and three interceptions while rushing for 817 yards and 15 touchdowns in leading Maize to a 12-1 record. He was named Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year. He was selected to play in the All-American Bowl. He played in the 2023 Under Armour Next All-America Game. He was also named a finalist for the Elite 11 quarterback competition.

It all built Johnson into the 20-year-old fearless playmaker who lights up scoreboards across the Big 12 Conference — and who plans to see the end zone at the 47,000-capacity Aviva Stadium in Dublin in just 12 days.

What we might see in the first college football game of the 2025 season is a more refined Avery Johnson, the fruits of his labor on full display as he opens a new chapter to a tale that hasn’t yet reached the really good part.

Deep balls downfield? Better believe he’s worked on it.

“It’s about just being able to have that pocket presence and being able to find the checkdown,” Johnson says. “It doesn’t always need to be a 100-yard bomb and force things into tight windows. It’s just being able to create completions when the shots aren’t there. Then whenever we do get big-shot opportunities or I can throw a 1-on-1 jump ball, I can give my guys a chance.”

As for the biggest improvement Johnson looks to make his junior season?

“Really, just not as many turnovers,” he says. “Just trying to do too much at times caused some unnecessary turnovers. What we say in the quarterback room is sometimes tips will happen, might get a ball through your guy’s hands and might get tipped for an interception, and that’s the cost of doing business. At the quarterback position, if you throw it enough times, things just don’t always shape up your way.

“Last year, I had some unnecessary picks where I tried to force things and threw things right to defenders. I want to eliminate that from my game and be a lot more — still aggressive, I don’t want to say conservative — but safer with that football. You have to win the turnover battle and that ball means everything.”

In his two seasons, Johnson not only has captured the attention of opposing coaches and fans, but his skillset and will to win has left an impression on players across the nation.

Take Jaron Tibbs, for example. After two seasons at Purdue, Tibbs suddenly found himself “chopping it up” with Johnson after dinner on his official visit to Manhattan in the second week of last December. The 20-year-old Tibbs, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound junior wide receiver from Indianapolis, Indiana, possesses an idea frame, and his athleticism coupled with deft route running in traffic and speed on the post makes the sure-handed pass catcher a virtual threat across the field. He signed with K-State thinking one thing: Me and Johnson can win some games.

“Honestly, it’s exciting because when you have Avery Johnson back there who you know can extend plays with his legs and get the ball deep sitting back in the pocket, it makes it easier because you know you have more time to really run your route to the fullest,” Tibbs says. “When a play is broken, you’re never really not an option, and the play is never dead.”

Jerand Bradley, who originally played for Wells when he was head coach at Texas Tech, spotted Johnson’s talent long ago, as well. A 6-foot-5, 217-pounder with 4.5 speed and a pair of sticky hands that caught long balls out of the Texas skies, Bradley has taken his talents to Manhattan as well for his senior season.

“I like how the offense is so versatile,” Bradley says. “I like everything about the offense from Avery Johnson to the weapons we have. I remember the first time I saw Avery play when I was at Texas Tech, and he scored five touchdowns. Every time I see him, he’s doing something crazy on the field. Man, I just love watching him play.”

Tibbs and Bradley seem ideal complements to junior Jayce Brown, who curiously isn’t regarded nationally as one of the top receiving threats in the Big 12, but he’s poetry in motion when he teams up with Johnson, his roommate. Brown has 18 starts over a span of two seasons, owns a career 17.0-yard average per reception, which ranks fifth in the FBS among active players. Last season, Brown tied for fourth in the FBS with seven catches of at least 40 yards and eighth with four receptions of at least 50 yards. He also posted 25 receptions of at least 20 yards, which equated to 53.2% or his total catches.

“Jayce is my guy, that’s my dog,” Johnson says. “We spend a lot of time together outside the facility. Our chemistry gels. When we step onto the field, I’m able to talk to him as a brother and understand where I want him to be on different plays. It just makes us a more dangerous duo whenever we do step on the field.”

In all honesty, there are weapons galore at Johnson’s disposal. He has the deepest and most talented group of tight ends in the country, including true freshman Linkon Cure, the No. 1-rated tight end in the Class of 2025 and highest-rated signee in K-State history. He has one of the most electric players in running back Dylan Edwards, his childhood football teammate. He’ll play behind a bruising offensive line that has shown nothing but good things in training camp. Reserves aren’t really reserves in this K-State offense, rather they’re “game changers.”

“I’m super comfortable and super confident,” Johnson says to reporters on Thursday. “I can only go as far as the people around me, and I understand that. We have so much talent at offensive line, wide receiver, running backs and tight ends, you name it. Those guys make my job so easy. I’ll continue to say that because we have talented skill players, and the guys up front are going to protect my butt all year.

“I’m just thankful to be in the position I’m in. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

And exactly what position is Johnson in heading into 2025? He enters his second full year as starting quarterback in an offense guided by Wells, who the Associated Press calls “one of the game’s top offensive minds,” and a part of a winning program led by seventh-year head coach Chris Klieman. He’s had a chance to digest the entirety of the 2024 season and build from the 2024 season and look to the 2025 season and walks into a locker room in training camp surrounded by some new and exciting faces eager to help Johnson and the Wildcats go places this fall.

First stop: Dublin, where K-State has a chance to become the first team to win a game in the 2025 college football season.

So here we are, back at Big 12 Football Media Days in Frisco, Texas, and Johnson sits in his lavender suit at a long table with a black tablecloth and in front of a large digital display bearing the Powercat logo. The questions from reporters keep rolling in. Then someone asks him what is probably on everybody’s mind as he and the Wildcats embark upon this journey.

What should everyone know about this K-State team in 2025?

Johnson pauses.

“We’re a team ready to prove to the world,” he says, “that we’re the best team in the Big 12.”

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$665K QB faces scrutiny after decision to stay in college football

Published

14 minutes ago

January 9, 2026

Your Sports Nation

The decision to head to the NFL instead of returning to college can be a complicated choice. Massive NIL payouts, potential NFL landing spots, and the solidity of a returning team are several factors that go into the stay-or-go calculus.

But with the 2026 NFL Draft QB class looking a bit thin already, some are second-guessing one QB’s plan to return to school.

Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss is in the middle of requesting another year of college eligibility from the NCAA. Chambliss is claiming that he missed the 2022 season due to respiratory health issues and is thus seeking one more year to play. His NIL value is likely to end up at several times the $665,000 estimate from On3sports.

ESPN broadcaster Chase Daniel second-guessed Chambliss’s decision to return to school. “Trinidad Chambliss should absolutely think abotu entering the draft after the way he’s played in the #CFBPlayoff,” Daniel Tweeted. “Light QB draft,” he also noted.

The 2026 NFL Draft class is highlighted by Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza and, should he enter, Oregon’s Dante Moore. Many are projecting both of those quarterbacks at or near the top of the Draft. But after Mendoza and Moore, things get increasingly cloudy.

Alabama’s Ty Simpson has indicated his plan to enter the Draft. Other veteran QBs like Carson Beck and Cade Klubnik figure to be in the picture. But it’s entirely plausible that NFL teams could view Chambliss as the No. 3 or No. 4 QB prospect in the 2026 NFL Draft class.

Chambliss rose to prominence seemingly from nowhere in 2025. He sat for two years at Division II Ferris State and then played mostly as a reserve in 2023. In 2024, though, he passed for 2,901 yards and 26 scores while rushing for 1,019 yards and 25 scores on the ground while leading Ferris State to the national title.

He began 2025 as the backup for Ole Miss’s Austin Simmons. But an ankle injury in Week 2 gave Chambliss a chance to play and he didn’t relinquish the job. Chambliss wound up passing for 3,937 yards and 22 touchdowns against just three interceptions. He ran for an additional 527 yards and eight touchdowns.

Of course, an adverse NCAA ruling might leave Chambliss with no real choice but to go pro. He has inked a tentative NIL deal with Ole Miss based on the premise that he will be given eligibility. That deal has been indicated as likely worth several million dollars. But Daniel thinks even better NFL money could be in Chambliss’s future… if he seeks it.

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Lane Kiffin due $500,000 payout from LSU after Ole Miss College Football Playoff run

Published

1 hour ago

January 9, 2026

Your Sports Nation

Thursday night, Ole Miss’ run in the College Football Playoff came to an end. The Rebels fell to Miami in the final seconds of the Fiesta Bowl.

With the loss, Lane Kiffin will officially receive a $500,000 payout from LSU within 30 days of the end of Ole Miss’ campaign. That was the amount he was due from Ole Miss, per the terms of his contract, and LSU said it would honor it in his deal with the Tigers. The school included “ancillary benefits” in Kiffin’s agreement after his high-profile departure from Ole Miss.

Ole Miss’ advancement in the College Football Playoff bracket increased Kiffin’s payout, which LSU is due to pay 30 days after the Rebels’ postseason run ends. It would have gone up even more if Ole Miss won the title. Here is how the structure is written out in his deal at LSU.

Ole Miss first-round game participation: $150,000
Ole Miss quarterfinal appearance: $250,000
Ole Miss semifinal appearance: $500,000
Ole Miss CFP national championship appearance: $750,000
Ole Miss CFP national championship win: $1 million

With Thursday’s loss, Ole Miss’ season ended in the College Football Playoff semifinal. As a result, Kiffin is due $500,000. If the Rebels pulled off a win, that figure would have grown to $750,000.

“Coach will be entitled to receive a payment in an amount equal to the amount Coach would have been entitled to receive had he remained Head Coach at Coach’s immediate prior employer and coached the prior employer’s football team through the 2025-26 CFP,” Lane Kiffin’s contract at LSU reads. “… If applicable, the payment under this section may be paid from affiliated foundation funds and shall be paid within 30 days following the prior employer’s team being eliminated from the 2025-26 CFP.”

Miami holds on to beat Ole Miss in Fiesta Bowl

Ole Miss trailed Miami 17-13 at halftime of the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl, but mounted a charge in the fourth quarter. The Rebels were able to capitalize on multiple Hurricanes miscues and took their first lead of the game, 19-17, with seven minutes to play.

Miami responded with a touchdown from Malachi Toney, but Ole Miss punched back. After a pass interference penalty extended the drive, Trinidad Chambliss hit Dae’Quan Wright for a touchdown and got the two-point conversion to make it a 27-24 Rebels lead with 3:13 to go.

The Hurricanes didn’t go down easily, though. Carson Beck ran in the go-ahead touchdown with 18 seconds left to make it a 31-27 Miami lead, giving Ole Miss one more shot. But Chambliss’ final Hail Mary fell short, sealing the Hurricanes’ victory and sending the program to the national title game.

However, Miami won’t have to go far for the championship game. The game will be at Hard Rock Stadium Jan. 19. The Hurricanes now wait to find out if they will play Oregon or Indiana.

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The Transfer Portal Era and Pursuit of NIL Money Is Messy. Are There Solutions?

Published

2 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Your Sports Nation

A quarterback reportedly reneging on a lucrative deal to hit the transfer portal, only to return to his original school. Another starting QB, this one in the College Football Playoff, awaiting approval from the NCAA to play next season, an expensive NIL deal apparently hanging in the balance. A defensive star, sued by his former school after transferring, filing a lawsuit of his own.

“It gets crazier and crazier. It really, really does,” said Sam Ehrlich, a Boise State legal studies professor who tracks litigation against the NCAA. He said he might have to add a new section for litigation against the NCAA stemming just from transfer portal issues.

“I think a guy signing a contract and then immediately deciding he wants to go to another school, that’s a kind of a new thing,” he said. “Not new kind of historically when you think about all the contract jumping that was going on in the ’60s and ’70s with the NBA. But it’s a new thing for college sports, that’s for sure.”

Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr. said late Thursday he will return to school for the 2026 season rather than enter the transfer portal, avoiding a potentially messy dispute amid reports the Huskers were prepared to pursue legal options to enforce Williams’ name, image and likeness contract.

Edge rusher Damon Wilson is looking to transfer after one season at Missouri, having been sued for damages by Georgia over his decision to leave the Bulldogs. He has countersued.

Then there is Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who reportedly has a new NIL deal signed but is awaiting an NCAA waiver allowing him to play another season as he and the Rebels played Thursday night’s Collge Football Playoff semifinal against Miami. On the Hurricanes roster: Defensive back Xavier Lucas, whose transfer from Wisconsin led to a lawsuit against the Hurricanes last year with the Badgers claiming he was improperly lured by NIL money. Lucas has played all season for Miami. The case is pending.

Court rulings have favored athletes of late, winning them not just millions in compensation but the ability to play immediately after transferring rather than have to sit out a year as once was the case. They can also discuss specific NIL compensation with schools and boosters before enrolling and current court battles include players seeking to play longer without lower-college seasons counting against their eligibility and ability to land NIL money while doing it.

Ehrlich compared the situation to the labor upheaval professional leagues went through before finally settling on collective bargaining, which has been looked at as a potential solution by some in college sports over the past year. Athletes.org, a players association for college athletes, recently offered a 38-page proposal of what a labor deal could look like.

“I think NCAA is concerned, and rightfully so, that anything they try to do to tamp down this on their end is going to get shut down,” Ehrlich said. “Which is why really the only two solutions at this point are an act of Congress, which feels like an act of God at this point, or potentially collective bargaining, which has its own major, major challenges and roadblocks.”

The NCAA has been lobbying for years for limited antitrust protection to keep some kind of control over the new landscape — and to avoid more crippling lawsuits — but bills have gone nowhere in Congress.

Collective bargaining is complicated and universities have long balked at the idea that their athletes are employees in some way. Schools would become responsible for paying wages, benefits, and workers’ compensation. And while private institutions fall under the National Labor Relations Board, public universities must follow labor laws that vary from state to state; virtually every state in the South has “right to work” laws that present challenges for unions.

Ehrlich noted the short careers for college athletes and wondered whether a union for collective bargaining is even possible.

A harder look at contracts

To sports attorney Mit Winter, employment contracts may be the simplest solution.

“This isn’t something that’s novel to college sports,” said Winter, a former college basketball player who is now a sports attorney with Kennyhertz Perry. “Employment contracts are a huge part of college sports, it’s just novel for the athletes.”

Employment contracts for players could be written like those for coaches, he suggested, which would offer buyouts and prevent players from using the portal as a revolving door.

“The contracts that schools are entering into with athletes now, they can be enforced, but they cannot keep an athlete out of school because they’re not signing employment contracts where the school is getting the right to have the athlete play football for their school or basketball or whatever sport it is,” Winter said. “They’re just acquiring the right to be able to use the athlete’s NIL rights in various ways. So, a NIL agreement is not going to stop an athlete from transferring or going to play whatever sport it is that he or she plays at another school.”

There are challenges here, too, of course: Should all college athletes be treated as employees or just those in revenue-producing sports? Can all injured athletes seek workers’ compensation and insurance protection? Could states start taxing athlete NIL earnings?

“What’s going on in college athletics now is trying to create this new novel system where the athletes are basically treated like employees, look like employees, but we don’t want to call them employees,” Winter said. “We want to call them something else and say they’re not being paid for athletic services. They’re being paid for use of their NIL. So, then it creates new legal issues that have to be hashed out and addressed, which results in a bumpy and chaotic system when you’re trying to kind of create it from scratch.”

Employment contracts would not necessarily allow for uniform rules with an athlete able to go to transfer when terms have been met. Collective bargaining could include those guidelines.

“If the goal is to keep someone at a school for a certain defined period of time, it’s got to be employment contracts,” Winter said.

Photos You Should See – December 2025

TOPSHOT - This aerial view shows people carrying images of the Virgin of Guadalupe during the pilgrimage to the Basilica of Guadalupe through Paso de Cortes, near Amecameca, Mexico on December 9, 2025. (Photo by Alfredo ESTRELLA / AFP via Getty Images)

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NIL contracts with Bison athletes a comprehensive, binding document – InForum

Published

3 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Your Sports Nation

FARGO — North Dakota State athletic director Matt Larsen says “never in a million years” did he foresee his position getting into legal agreements like Name, Image and Likeness contracts with student-athletes. Well, a million years suddenly became 2026.

Another step in the different world of college football is alive and well with the Bison, whose players are required to sign either one of two contracts with the athletic department: a student-athlete participation and publicity agreement that allows the university to use the student-athlete for marketing and promotional purposes and a more comprehensive NIL license agreement that is tied to funds players receive directly from the Green and Gold Fund, the collective that pays student-athletes from the athletic department.

Almost 80% of NDSU football players are part of the latter.

Contracts like NDSU’s are most likely the standard in college football these days.

“I don’t know about every school but I think if you’re doing any sort of in-house institutional NIL, these are the types of things you need to do,” Larsen said. “There are probably varying degrees to how extensive they are. We just felt like we wanted to do it right on the front end.”

NDSU’s NIL license agreement is nine pages of legal language. For instance, there are stipulations that do not allow the athlete to enter into a third-party agreement with a competitor of an athletic department or university sponsor (which is nothing new), such as Under Armour, Scheels, Gate City Bank or Sanford Health, among others.

They are not allowed to represent industries related to alcohol, tobacco, anabolic steroids, gambling or sexually-oriented businesses.

Not all football players are paid and not all are paid the same, with preference given to starters or veterans who contribute the most on the field. The contract specifies the student-athlete have a degree of confidentiality with the exception of the student-athlete’s authorized representative, immediate family members, tax adviser or legal counsel.

The contracts between student-athletes and the university are not subject to open records, mainly because of student privacy rights like the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

“It’s a completely new world,” Larsen said. “It’s not something I ever thought I would do yet here we are.”

Larsen didn’t want to get into how enforceable the contracts are, although it’s a general assumption that a multi-million dollar agreement with a Power Four athlete is vastly different from a contract with an FCS player.

042225.S.FF.SunderlandOffice9.jpg — North Dakota State athletic director Matt Larsen explains the details of the renovated Sunderland Family Football Office Complex, located inside the Fargodome, on April 21, 2025, during a press conference and ribbon cutting that unveiled the space.

It’s doubtful a school like NDSU would legally go after a player making $10,000 in NIL as opposed to the University of Washington suggesting this week it may take legal action against quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who signed a million-dollar NIL contract last week with the school but said he was entering the transfer portal this week.

All 425 NDSU student-athletes sign the participation and publicity contract, which grants NDSU to use them for promotional purposes. There is no revenue exchanged with the parties.

Both contracts didn’t come about overnight. NDSU met with multiple lawyers, including an external Title IX attorney and the North Dakota University System assistant attorney general, over the summer in creating the agreements.

Football players get paid between two and four times a year depending on their situation with the payments of NIL funds to NDSU athletes being done through a company called Teamworks LLC, an operating system that distributes funds. The company advertises that its platform helps with tax obligations and offers tools for savings and business accounts.

Larsen calls it a general manager tool. More than that, Larsen has become more than a director of his athletic department. Add general manager to that title, too.

“A lot of our terms are all pretty standard,” he said.

Standard, in 2026.

Jeff Kolpack, the son of a reporter and an English teacher, and the brother of a reporter, worked at the Jamestown Sun, Bismarck Tribune and since 1990 The Forum, where he’s covered North Dakota State athletics since 1995. He has covered all 10 of NDSU’s Division I FCS national football titles and has written four books: “Horns Up,” “North Dakota Tough,” “Covid Kids” and “They Caught Them Sleeping: How Dot Reinvented the Pretzel.” He is also the radio host of “The Golf Show with Jeff Kolpack” April through August.

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Washington quarterback Demond Williams Jr reverses transfer decision

Published

4 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Your Sports Nation

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Demond Williams Jr., a college football player who ignited controversy by entering the transfer portal just days after signing a lucrative name, image and likeness deal with Washington, announced late Thursday that he will remain with the Huskies. The abrupt reversal comes amid reports that the university was weighing its legal options to enforce the contract.

Williams, 19, signed an NIL deal on Jan. 2 to remain as Washington’s quarterback for the 2026 season, a contract reportedly valued at around $4 million. Days later — on the same day as the memorial service for Washington women’s soccer player Mia Hamant, who died in November after a long battle with kidney cancer — Williams announced his intention to enter the transfer portal.

Demond Williams Jr. of the Washington Huskies arrives for the game against the Oregon Ducks at Husky Stadium on Nov. 29, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Blake Dahlin/ISI Photos/ISI Photos)

The decision, and the timing of Williams’ announcement, was met with both shock and backlash.

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The fallout of that announcement led Williams’ agent, Doug Hendrickson, to drop the quarterback, citing “philosophical differences.” Williams then retained Florida-based attorney Darren Heitner amid reports that the university was exploring legal action to enforce the contract.

But in a shocking reversal, Williams released a statement Thursday confirming that he would be staying with Washington.

“After thoughtful reflection with my family, I am excited to announce that I will continue my football journey at the University of Washington. I am deeply grateful to my coaches, teammates, and everyone in the program for fostering an environment where I can thrive both as an athlete and as an individual,” his statement posted to social media read.

“I am fully committed and focused on contributing to what we are building.”

Demond Williams Jr. of the Washington Huskies celebrates a touchdown against the Oregon Ducks during the second half at Husky Stadium on Nov. 29, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

AGENT DUMPS WASHINGTON QUARTERBACK TRYING TO BREAK $4M CONTRACT DAYS AFTER SIGNING

Williams also apologized that his initial announcement “coincided with the celebration of life for Mia Hamant, a beloved member of our University community. I never intended to call attention away from such an important moment.”

In his statement, head coach Jedd Fisch acknowledged the strain caused by the situation and said the program would work with Williams to repair relationships and rebuild trust within the Husky community.

“Over the last few days, Demond and I have engaged in very honest and heartfelt conversations about his present and future. We both agree that the University of Washington is the best place for him to continue his academic, athletic, and social development,” he said in a statement provided by the university.

Demond Williams Jr. of the Washington Huskies passes against the Oregon Ducks during the first half at Husky Stadium on Nov. 29, 2025 in Seattle, Washington. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

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“I appreciate Demond’s statement. I support him, and we will work together to begin the process of repairing relationships and regaining the trust of the Husky community.”

Williams is a dual-threat quarterback who threw for 3,065 yards with 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions, while also rushing for 611 yards and six scores during his sophomore season at Washington.

Fox News Digital’s Scott Thompson contributed to this report.

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NIL

Sign of the Times: Harvard Quarterback Jaden Craig Will Play for TCU

Published

5 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Your Sports Nation

From Harvard to Horned Frog. That’s the transition record-breaking Crimson quarterback Jaden Craig ’26 is making.

Craig finished his eligibility at Harvard on a down note with the 52-7 defeat to Villanova on November 29, 2025, in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) post-season playoffs. Having concluded his academic coursework in Cambridge, he is now enrolling at Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth, Texas, as a so-called “grad transfer,” a development first reported by the Crimson. The expectation is that Craig will be the starting quarterback for the Horned Frogs (that is, their mascot) when they kick off the 2026 season in the fall.

The move represents a step up in class for the two-time All-Ivy signal caller. TCU plays in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) as a member of the Big 12, one of college football’s so-called Power Four conferences. To get there, Craig entered his name in the NCAA’s transfer portal, indicating his availability as a potential graduate transfer for an additional season of college football.

Craig quickly found a taker at TCU, whose starting quarterback in 2025, Josh Hoover, is transferring to suddenly-mighty Indiana. This past season the Horned Frogs were 9-4 and played in the Alamo Bowl, where they outlasted Southern Cal 30-27.

The graduate transfer rule was established in 2018, one of the many features of the new, Wild West atmosphere of college sports. It essentially rewards student-athletes who have run out of eligibility at their school by allowing them to get an additional year of competition at another school that will accept them. (The Ivy League does not accept grad transfers for athletic competition.)

Several former star Harvard players have taken advantage of the rule and played elsewhere, most notably kick returner Justice Shelton-Mosley ’19 (Vanderbilt), tight end Tyler Neville ’24 (Virginia), and defensive lineman Thor Griffith ’24 (Louisville). This past season, receiver Cooper Barkate ’26 became a star at Duke as a grad transfer. More players from Harvard’s 2025 team are expected to follow Craig’s lead in the coming weeks.

Andrew Aurich, the Stephenson family head coach for Harvard football, thinks the move will benefit both Craig and TCU. “I see him being able to fit in right away, whatever the dynamics are of the roster at TCU,” says Aurich. “They do a really good job of putting the quarterback in situations to be really successful, and Jaden’s a really good decision maker.”

Still, Aurich, who also has coached at the FBS level and in the NFL, knows that it may take a while for Craig to adjust. “The speed that he saw from a few defensive guys in the Ivy League,” Aurich says, “he’ll see from everyone in the Big 12.”

Craig’s grad transfer stint will be a showcase for NFL scouts who may be skeptical of his Ivy pedigree. For sure, he had done all he could on Soldiers Field. Craig was an integral member of teams that shared three Ivy championships. He established new Crimson career records with 52 touchdown passes and 6,074 yards gained through the air. Craig threw for more than 300 yards five times.

Gaudy as they are, the statistics don’t fully do him justice. This past season against Penn, he calmly directed a stirring march in the final 22 seconds to set up a game-winning field goal that clinched a share of the league title.

Craig is in the discussion for the best Harvard quarterback of all time. Perhaps only Ryan Fitzpatrick ’05 surpasses him. What is undeniable is that Craig sported the best arm in the program’s 151 seasons. In football parlance, Craig has all the throws. He can rifle the ball or prettily feather it. He can fit passes into tight windows. He can loft long bombs that drop right into the hands of streaking receivers. His rapport with favorite targets—the most notable being Barkate—has been almost eerie. He has set a high bar for his successors.

Now he moves onto the big stage, and a more lucrative one. In this new world of big-time college sports, schools can legally pay student-athletes (Harvard does not), who also can earn money through NIL (Name, Image and Likeness) deals. Some reports have FBS schools putting together financial packages worth a minimum of $1 million for starting quarterbacks. We have no idea if Craig has partaken of such booty. Then again, his concentration at Harvard was economics.

We wish him well—as potential new fans of the Horned Frogs.

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