The world of college football reignited its flame this past week when Wisconsin sued Miami for NIL tampering. It’s a first-of-its-kind lawsuit that could have significant ramifications depending on how it unfolds. But former Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram doesn’t think the problem ends here.
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Let’s first give context to the lawsuit. Xavier Lucas is a defensive back who played his freshman season at Wisconsin. He had a solid year, racking up 18 total tackles, a sack, and an interception. Wisconsin was excited to develop him and eventually have him lead the cornerback position. But here’s where things get tricky.
Coming out of a Florida high school, Lucas was recruited by both Wisconsin and Miami. Seemingly due to a lack of playing time, he asked to be entered into the transfer portal so he could transfer to Miami. But Lucas publicly claimed that Wisconsin refused to enter his name. After two months of waiting, he eventually found a workaround by unenrolling at Wisconsin and re-enrolling at Miami.
It’s the kind of move that pushes the current language around NIL to its absolute limit. Miami allegedly stepped in and advised Lucas on how to navigate the workaround, but how can Wisconsin actually prove that? And on the flip side, why aren’t they being held somewhat accountable for not honoring Lucas’ request to enter the portal?
When Mark Ingram saw the news and its broader implications, he weighed in, saying this type of incident will keep happening until real consequences are in place.
“Until you put rules in place that punish the teams that do it or punish the individual that does it, this stuff is going to continue to happen. So, I agree with Wisconsin. They should be getting whatever they compensated the player; they should get it back,” Ingram said on The Triple Option show.
The term “Wild Wild West” is usually best used to describe the current state of NIL in college sports. A revenue-sharing deal has just been passed to make it less unfair. But it feels like we’re at least 2-3 years out before we see the major effects of that take place.
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This controversy only adds to the disorganized mess that NIL has become in college sports. It was a long time coming and a much-needed addition, but so far, the implementation has felt haphazard.
That’s why Ingram echoed the sentiments that any college football fan is expressing right now: if you don’t have rules in place, then there are going to be lawsuits and moments like these, where players push the rules to their limit. It’s how nations get built and how societies determine right from wrong.
At the end of the day, though, Lucas’ agent said that he never sat down with or met Miami representatives. And with no proof, there’s nothing the NCAA or Wisconsin can do about it. You can’t force a kid to go to school somewhere just because he’s being paid. Especially if he’s asking to leave, he should at least be allowed to explore other options.
This situation has been poorly handled by Wisconsin, and they deserve as much—if not more—blame than the player in question, despite what Ingram or the hosts of The Triple Option may believe. Wisconsin got wronged, sure. But in not being allowed to enter the portal, so was Lucas. It feels like Wisconsin’s issue lies more with the player than with the school.
