Wisconsin’s lawsuit against Miami over the transfer of cornerback Xavier Lucas hinges on one of the most basic tenets of civil law. Tortious interference cases get filed across the country every day.

When someone accuses an entity of tortious interference, they are saying that the entity intentionally caused someone to break a valid contract. That is what Wisconsin has accused Miami of doing with Lucas. The Badgers and their collective VC Connect (Wisconsin’s co-plaintiff) believe Miami coaches tampered with then-Wisconsin player Lucas in December, causing him to break the contract he’d signed with VC Connect and future contracts he would have signed with Wisconsin to enroll at Miami and play for the Hurricanes.

If this were a simple tortious interference case, it might be easier to handicap. If the case does move forward, it could have a huge impact on player movement. A win for Wisconsin or a monetary settlement from Miami likely would force schools to crack down on their own coaches to avoid tampering lest they cost their schools money. On the flip side, a win for Miami or a judge tossing the case would further embolden coaching staffs to try to pry players off of other school’s rosters even if those players aren’t considering the transfer portal.

It’s probably not a simple tortious interference case, though. Like everything else in college sports right now, the reality is more complicated. We’ll let Gabe Feldman, the director of Tulane’s sports law program, explain.

“In most of these cases where there there are no-poaching agreements or no-tampering agreements, they’re typically employment agreements for service providers. And whether it’s an employee or an independent contractor, this is obviously, at least in theory, for NIL,” Feldman said. “But it’s so intertwined with the services that it’s it’s not clear if that distinction will actually have an impact here.”

The “services,” in this case, could be promotion of the school as outlined in the NIL agreement Lucas signed. Name, image and likeness contracts essentially are endorsement deals. But the “services” also could be Lucas’ ability as a football player. Even though anyone with a functioning brain knows these particular payments are actually for playing football, schools continue to ban “pay-for-play” out of fear that specifically paying athletes to play their sports might cause the courts to deem those athletes employees of their schools. 

To a court, the service rendered might be playing football. In fact, Wisconsin’s complaint specifically refers to that.

After a clause about the loss of a “student-athlete with valuable NIL rights” — which makes sense in the context of losing the paid endorser Wisconsin is purporting Lucas to be — plaintiffs’ attorneys wrote this: “Further harms include the loss of financial benefits UW-Madison stood to receive from Student-Athlete A’s continued participation in its football program.” If Wisconsin wasn’t paying Lucas to play football, then why would that matter in the context of the case?

This particular distinction helps explain the razor’s edge Wisconsin rides on by filing this lawsuit. Several potential outcomes could help schools tremendously. Others could be disastrous.

On one hand, either a victory or a settlement in Wisconsin’s favor could provide an effective deterrent against tampering. But Feldman explained that antitrust plaintiffs’ attorneys are watching this case closely because it also could further strengthen a case for athletes as employees depending on how a judge views the contracts between the athletes and the schools.

It’s also possible, though, that the case further proves the difficulty of making and enforcing rules in this environment. That could potentially help the schools and the NCAA in the long run, because it might bolster their appeals to Congress for some exemption to antitrust laws. “It highlights for the NCAA how difficult it is to establish uniform rules unless they are provided some special legal treatment,” Feldman said. “In an upside down way, this might strengthen their argument to Congress.”

For both of these reasons, it will be fascinating to see how Miami responds to the complaint. Miami is a fellow NCAA school. Wisconsin and Miami have agreed to the same set of rules. But Miami presumably doesn’t want to admit any wrongdoing. So will Miami mount a defense that further muddies the waters?

Or the lawsuit be a lot of noise without an intent to follow through. Wisconsin’s complaint is intentionally vague. Often, plaintiffs will include a copy of the contract in question as an exhibit. Wisconsin opted not to do that in this case, presumably because the schools do not want that contract language released to the public. Lucas’ deal, according to the lawsuit, is based on a template created by the Big Ten. If the lawsuit moves forward, that contract — and any language Wisconsin or the Big Ten might have considered proprietary — likely will find its way into the public record. Wisconsin probably would have to be willing to allow a lot more information to go pubic if it hopes to prevail.

Wisconsin also opted not to sue Lucas himself. Already painted as anti-athlete for not placing Lucas in the transfer portal when he asked to be entered, Wisconsin officials probably feared future recruiting issues stemming from a lawsuit against a former player. In fact, plaintiffs’ attorneys didn’t even name Lucas in the complain, instead calling him “student-athlete A.”

But, depending on the language in the contract, Wisconsin may have a legal avenue to seek money from Lucas for breaking the agreement. Earlier this year, Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek announced his support for collective Arkansas Edge to collect on liquidated damages clauses from broken NIL deals. This came a day after quarterback Madden Iamaleava left Arkansas for UCLA. 

That Arkansas-Iamaleava case and the one brought by Wisconsin against Miami have the power to shape the future of player movement in college sports. If there are real financial penalties for moving, it likely would make players think hard before they decide to change schools. If there is a threat of a school having to pay damages if a coach was found to be tampering, then tampering likely would decline dramatically.

That last part hinges on a few important details. How will a court view football deals that masquerade as endorsement deals? Could this be a garden variety tortious interference case, or is it something more complex? Is Wisconsin willing to push the case far enough to produce a resolution?

Everyone in college sports is eager to learn the answers.

Will Wade’s work building N.C. State into an immediate winner included the pursuit of an entrant in the NBA draft, just in case he returned to college.

It wasn’t a huge risk: With all the cash flowing in college, the number of early entrants to the NBA draft has continued to shrink. This year’s draft starts Wednesday night with its lowest total of those prospects in at least 10 years.

“Now you can play the long game a little bit more,” Wade told The Associated Press, referring to how college players can look at their futures. “Look, I can get paid the same I would get paid in the G League, the same I would get paid on a two-way (contract), some guys are getting first-round money.”

And more money is on the way.

It’s been four years since college athletes were permitted to profit off the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL), opening the door for athlete compensation that was once forbidden by NCAA rules. July 1 marks the official start of revenue sharing where schools can begin directly paying athletes following the $2.8 billion House antitrust settlement.

For Wade, that led to signing Texas Tech’s Darrion Williams after 247sports’ fifth-ranked transfer withdrew from the draft.

“Basically now if you’re an early entry and you’re not a top-20, top-22 pick — where the money slots — you can pretty much make that in college,” the new Wolfpack coach said.

It’s all part of a seismic change that has rippled through college athletics since the pandemic, its impact touching the NBA. Players willing to “test the waters” in the draft before returning to school now have a lucrative option to consider against uncertain pro prospects.

“With all the money that’s being thrown around in NIL, you’re having a lot less players put their names in,” Detroit Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon said. “You’re having pretty good players pulling their names out.”

This year’s drop is significant compared to the years before anyone heard of COVID-19. There was a spike of college players jumping into the draft in the pandemic’s aftermath, when they were granted a free eligibility year to temporarily make even a fourth-year senior an “early” entrant.

But those numbers fell as those five-year players cycled out of college basketball, and they’re now below pre-pandemic levels. That decline coincides with NIL’s July 2021 arrival, from athletes doing paid appearances or social-media endorsements to boosters forming collectives offering NIL packages amounting to de facto salaries.

As a result:

• Eighty-two players appeared on the NBA’s list of early entrants primarily from American colleges with a smattering of other teams, down 49% from 2024 (162) and nearly 47% compared to the four-year average from 2016-19 (153.5);

• Thirty-two remained after withdrawal deadlines, down from 62 last year and 72.0 from 2016-19;

• Adding international prospects, 109 players declared for the draft, down from 201 last year and 205.0 from 2016-19;

Duke coach Jon Scheyer understands draft dynamics, both for no-doubt headliners and prospects facing less clarity. He sees college athlete compensation as a “legitimate gamechanger.”

“Hopefully it allows players to decide what’s truly best for their game,” Scheyer told the AP. “It allows them to analyze: ‘Am I actually ready for this or not?’ Where money doesn’t have to be the deciding factor. Because if money’s the deciding factor, that’s why you see kids not stick. The NBA’s cutthroat. It just is.”

The Blue Devils are expected to have three players selected in the first-round Wednesday, including presumptive No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg alongside top-10 prospects Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach. They also had players sorting through draft decisions.

“There’s no substituting the money you’re going to make if you’re a top-15, top-20 pick,” said Scheyer, entering Year 4 as successor to retired Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski. “But if you’re not solidified as a first-round pick, why risk it when you can have a solid year and a chance to go up or be in the same position the following season?”

Langdon, himself a former Duke first-rounder, sees that evolution, too.

His Pistons had their first playoff appearance since 2019, but lack a first-round selection and own a single pick in Thursday’s second round. Fewer candidates could make the already imperfect science of drafting even trickier in this new reality.

According to the NBA’s 2024-25 rookie scale, a player going midway through the first round would make roughly $3.5 million in first-year salary. That figure would drop to about $2.8 million at pick No. 20, $2.3 million at No. 25 and $2.1 million with the 30th and final first-round draftee.

A minimum first-year NBA salary? Roughly $1.2 million.

“These NIL packages are starting to get up to $3 to $4 to $5 to $6 million dollars,” Langdon said. “These guys are not going to put their name in to be the 25th pick, or even the 18th pick. They are going to go back to school in hopes of being a lottery pick next year.”

Indiana Pacers big man Thomas Bryant and Oklahoma City Thunder counterpart Isaiah Hartenstein, who both played in the seven-game NBA Finals that ended Sunday, illustrate Langdon’s point.

They were back-to-back second-rounders in 2017 (Bryant at 42, Hartenstein at 43), pushed down a draft board featuring early-entry college players in 33 of the 41 picks before them.

Bryant played two college seasons at Indiana before stints with five NBA teams, including Denver’s 2023 championship squad. Would the ability to make college money have changed his journey?

“To be honest, I see it from both sides,” Bryant said. “If you’re not going to get drafted, you understand that a kid needs money to live in college and everything. So, I understand where they’re coming from on that end.

“But for me, I took the chance. I bet on myself, and I believed in myself, and I worked to the very end. And the thing about me is that if I went down, I was going down swinging. I hang my hat on that. For some, it might not be the same case.”

The American-born Hartenstein moved to Germany at 11 and played in Lithuania before being drafted. As he put it: “I think everyone’s journey is different.”

RIP, Boilermaker Alliance.

CEO Dave Neff posted on LinkedIn on Monday that Purdue’s independent NIL arm will cease to exist when the revenue share era commences on July 1.

The release began: “In response to the transformative House v. NCAA settlement, Boilermaker Alliance, a leading force in supporting Purdue student-athletes, will sunset its Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) activities effective June 30, 2025, marking the end of a groundbreaking chapter in collegiate athletics.”

“I want to sincerely thank the Executive Board of Directors of Boilermaker Alliance for allowing me a chance to be part of this transformative experience as well as the Athlete Advisory Board for all their support,” Neff posted on LinkedIn. “To my colleagues in Purdue University’s Athletic Department as well as the Board of Trustees, thank you for all your collaboration and partnership during these turbulent times.”

Boilermaker Alliance was formed in July 2022, spearheaded by Jeff McKean.

“Boilermaker Alliance has been a game-changer for our student-athletes during a transformative time in college sports,” Purdue AD Mike Bobinski said in the statement. “Their leadership and creativity has positioned Purdue athletics for continued success, and we are deeply grateful for the impact their work has had on our program.”

College sports will enter the “rev share” era beginning on July 1, when schools can fund as much as $20.5 million to pay directly to athletes.

What’s next to replace Boilermaker Alliance to help athletes earn money beyond rev share? Earlier this month, Purdue announced the creation of Boiler BrandWorks. It is billed by the athletic department as “an in-house student-athlete marketing and brand-building unit.”

The mission? To work directly with athletes to develop their personal brands and source meaningful NIL partnerships with donors, alumni, and businesses—both locally and nationally.

The new College Sports Commission will assume enforcement responsibilities of NIL, with the accounting firm Deloitte involved in auditing NIL deals, which must be reported via an app.

MORE: Purdue AD Mike Bobinski discusses post-House Settlement landscape: Five things to know

Will Wade’s work building N.C. State into an immediate winner included the pursuit of an NBA draft entrant, just in case he returned to college.

It wasn’t a huge risk. With all the cash flowing in college, the number of early entrants in the NBA draft has continued to shrink. This year’s draft starts Wednesday night with its lowest total of those prospects in at least 10 years.

“Now you can play the long game a little bit more,” Wade told The Associated Press, referring to how college players can look at their futures. “Look, I can get paid the same I would get paid in the G League, the same I would get paid on a two-way (contract). Some guys are getting first-round money.”

And more money is on the way.

It has been four years since college athletes were permitted to profit off the use of their name, image and likeness (NIL), opening the door for athlete compensation that NCAA rules once forbade. July 1 marks the official start of revenue sharing, when schools can begin directly paying athletes after the $2.8 billion House antitrust settlement.

For Wade, that led to signing Texas Tech’s Darrion Williams after 247Sports’ fifth-ranked transfer withdrew from the draft.

“Basically now if you’re an early entry and you’re not a top-20, top-22 pick — where the money slots — you can pretty much make that in college,” the new Wolfpack coach said.

It’s all part of a seismic change that has rippled through college athletics since the pandemic, its impact touching the NBA. Players willing to “test the waters” in the draft before returning to school now have a lucrative option to consider against uncertain pro prospects.

And it shows in the numbers.

“With all the money that’s being thrown around in NIL, you’re having a lot less players put their names in,” Detroit Pistons president of basketball operations Trajan Langdon said. “You’re having pretty good players pulling their names out.”

Declining number of early entrants

This year’s drop is significant compared with the years before anyone had heard of COVID-19. There was a spike of college players jumping into the draft in the pandemic’s aftermath, when they were granted a free year of eligibility to temporarily make even a fourth-year senior an “early” entrant.

But those numbers had fallen as those five-year players cycled out of college basketball, and they’re now below pre-pandemic levels. That decline coincides with NIL’s July 2021 arrival, from athletes doing paid appearances or social-media endorsements to boosters forming collectives offering NIL packages amounting to de facto salaries.

As a result:

• Eighty-two players appeared on the NBA’s list of early entrants, primarily from American colleges with a smattering of other teams, down 49% from 2024 (162) and nearly 47% compared with the four-year average from 2016-19 (153.5).
• Thirty-two remained after withdrawal deadlines, down from 62 last year and an average of 72 from 2016-19.
• Adding international prospects, 109 players declared for the draft, down from 201 last year and a 205 average from 2016-19.
• And only 46 remained, down from 77 in 2024 and 83.8 per year from 2016-19.

More college players weighing options

Duke coach Jon Scheyer understands draft dynamics, both for no-doubt headliners and prospects facing less clarity. He sees college athlete compensation as a “legitimate game changer.”

“Hopefully it allows players to decide what’s truly best for their game,” Scheyer told the AP. “It allows them to analyze: ‘Am I actually ready for this or not?’ Where money doesn’t have to be the deciding factor. Because if money’s the deciding factor, that’s why you see kids not stick. The NBA’s cutthroat.”

The Blue Devils are expected to have three players selected in the first round Wednesday: presumptive No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg and top-10 prospects Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach. They also had players sorting through draft decisions.

Freshman Isaiah Evans — a slender wing with explosive scoring potential — withdrew instead of chasing first-round status through the draft process. Incoming transfer Cedric Coward from Washington State rapidly rose draft boards after the combine and remained in the draft.

“There’s no substituting the money you’re going to make if you’re a top-15, top-20 pick,” said Scheyer, entering Year 4 as successor to retired Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski. “But if you’re not solidified as a first-round pick, why risk it when you can have a solid year and a chance to go up or be in the same position the following season?”

College compensation is reshaping the draft pool

Langdon, himself a former Duke first-rounder, sees that evolution too.

His Pistons made their first playoff appearance since 2019 but lack a first-round selection and own a single pick in Thursday’s second round. Fewer candidates could make the already imperfect science of drafting even trickier in this new reality.

According to the NBA’s 2024-25 rookie scale, a player drafted midway through the first round would make roughly $3.5 million in first-year salary. That figure drops to about $2.8 million at No. 20, $2.3 million at No. 25 and $2.1 million with the 30th and final first-round pick.

A minimum first-year NBA salary is roughly $1.2 million.

“These NIL packages are starting to get up to 3 to 4 to 5 to 6 million dollars,” Langdon said. “These guys are not going to put their name in to be the 25th pick, or even the 18th pick. They are going to go back to school in hopes of being a lottery pick next year.

“With that pool of players decreasing, it kind of decreases the odds of the level of player we get at No. 37, just the pure mathematics.”

Current NBA players offer insight

Indiana Pacers big man Thomas Bryant and Oklahoma City Thunder counterpart Isaiah Hartenstein, who both played in the seven-game NBA Finals that ended Sunday, illustrate Langdon’s point.

They were back-to-back second-rounders in 2017 — Bryant at No. 42, Hartenstein at 43 — pushed down a draft board featuring early-entry college players in 33 of the 41 picks before them.

Bryant played two college seasons at Indiana before stints with five NBA teams, including the Denver Nuggets’ 2023 championship squad. Would the ability to make college money have changed his journey?

“To be honest, I see it from both sides,” Bryant said. “If you’re not going to get drafted, you understand that a kid needs money to live in college and everything. So I understand where they’re coming from on that end.

“But for me, I took the chance. I bet on myself and I believed in myself, and I worked to the very end. And the thing about me is that if I went down, I was going down swinging. I hang my hat on that. For some, it might not be the same case.”

The American-born Hartenstein moved to Germany at 11 and played in Lithuania before being drafted. As he put it: “Everyone’s journey is different.”

“You should have the right people around you to kind of guide you,” said Hartenstein, a newly minted NBA champion. “I mean, I was lucky that my dad, who was a professional before, kind of guided me. Depending on your circumstances, it’s hard to turn down guaranteed money. If there’s an opportunity to get in a good situation in the NBA, you do that. But it’s a hard decision.”

College can be more of an allure

At N.C. State, Wade’s pitch to Williams included a leading role and a shot at boosting his draft stock.

The 6-foot-6 junior averaged 15.1 points with multiple big NCAA Tournament performances as the Red Raiders reached the Elite Eight, nearly beating eventual champion Florida.

“He was most likely going to be a second-round draft pick, and his package here is better than probably he would’ve gotten as a second-round pick,” Wade said. “We certainly talked about that. We went over that. We went over the math of everything. We went over the plan on how to accomplish that.”

That’s not to say it’s easy at the college level in this new landscape. Roster management is tricky, including a balancing act of maintaining financial resources to potentially land one player while risking missing out on others.

“It’s the way life works; it’s the way it should work,” Wade said. “If there’s no risk, there’s no reward. The riskiest players, in terms of waiting on the money and waiting them out, are the best players. That’s why they’re in the draft process. We’re not going to be scared of that.”

Nor should he, not with the allure of campus life these days.

AP’s Tim Reynolds and Larry Lage contributed.

Originally Published: June 24, 2025 at 2:01 PM CDT

NOTE: This is the third in a series of communications regarding JMU’s plans to successfully evolve in the new environment of college athletics. Part one immediately after the House Settlement was finalized was posted on June 10 and part two on its impact at JMU was published on June 17.
 
Among the many changes to college athletics in the evolving landscape with the settlement of the NCAA vs. House case, institutions can now provide direct financial benefits to student-athletes as part of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) activities. Previously NIL opportunities were only available through third-party arrangements.
 
In order to enhance the value of athletics participation at the university, James Madison Athletics and the Duke Club are proud to announce the launch of the Student-Athlete Enhancement Fund, a groundbreaking initiative that empowers fans, alumni and donors to elevate the value of JMU student-athlete participation through NIL opportunities.
 
The fund positions JMU to provide direct financial benefits to student-athletes with a focus on recruiting and retaining elite talent who maximize their opportunities at the university. The Student-Athlete Enhancement Fund is a strategic investment in the future of JMU Athletics. By focusing on recruiting and retaining top-tier student-athletes, the department and its constituents will work collectively to ensure that JMU remains competitive on a national level.
 
“At JMU, our mission has always been to elevate the student-athlete experience — academically, athletically, and in personal and leadership development,” JMU Director of Athletics Matt Roan said. “The Student-Athlete Enhancement Fund represents our commitment to providing meaningful opportunities in this new era of college sports. We will be able to attract the very best student-athletes who match the culture and pursuit of excellence that we expect at JMU, while also providing resources to retain them to continue their careers in Harrisonburg while pursuing a degree.”
 
The fund will serve as a vehicle for donors and fans of JMU Athletics to contribute directly to initiatives that impact student-athletes, including revenue sharing models and NIL support structures. By doing so, the Duke Club and JMU Athletics continue to lead with innovation and integrity while reinforcing a culture of excellence.
 
The Student-Athlete Enhancement Fund provides an additional channel for donor giving, but it does not replace the Duke Club Annual Fund. The Annual Fund will continue to serve as the key vehicle to fund student-athlete scholarships, along with the overall department operating budget. As noted in the June 17 communication, JMU Athletics anticipates adding 15 scholarships in 2025-26 with more to come beyond that. The growth of the Annual Fund will be critical to continue addressing the rising scholarship cost for the department.
 
Supporters interested in contributing to the Student-Athlete Enhancement Fund or learning more about its impact can visit JMUDukeClub.com. Potential donors are also encouraged to call the Duke Club to discuss how a gift can best address their areas of interest and the department’s greatest needs.