Georgia, Ex-Football Player Suing Each Other in NIL Dispute

Missouri star defensive end Damon Wilson is countersuing Georgia’s athletic association and its Classic City collective over its claims that he owes them NIL money for his decision to transfer schools last year. 

On Tuesday, Wilson’s legal team filed a complaint in Boone County, Mo. circuit court alleging a civil conspiracy involving the Bulldogs and the school’s NIL collective to  “penalize Wilson for his decision to transfer.” The complaint alleges Georgia meddled with his ability to transfer and lied about the buyout from his NIL deal. 

“Damon was given no choice,” Jeff Jensen, one of Wilson’s attorneys, told Front Office Sports. “Georgia forced him into this litigation,” 

A five-star recruit out of high school, Wilson had a breakout season for Missouri with a team-high nine sacks. He’s now viewed as a possible first or second-round NFL Draft pick.

Wilson’s countersuit comes a month after Georgia and its collective sued Wilson seeking arbitration over $390,000 in unpaid NIL. Georgia claims Wilson signed an agreement to play his junior season for the Bulldogs before entering the transfer portal a month later. 

The lawsuits could have significant repercussions in college sports; it is believed to be the first time a player and school have gone to court over an NIL contract. In Tuesday’s filing, Wilson alleges he was approached by a Georgia staffer at the team facility in December 2024 while the team was preparing to play in the College Football Playoff, when he was told to “go upstairs,” where he found a term sheet to return next season that was already signed by the collective’s leadership. The term sheet was a 14-month, $500,000 deal to be paid out in $30,000 monthly payments, according to the documents Georgia filed in its lawsuit. 

“The Term Sheet contained a non-binding list of key terms that, if agreed to, would ‘be used to create a legally binding document,’” the complaint says. 

Wilson said such a document was never created, which makes the term sheet not binding. The 20-year-old alleges he was pushed to sign the term sheet without any representation, despite the document saying it encouraged him to “seek legal counsel” before finalizing terms. 

After Georgia’s season ended on Jan. 2, Wilson entered the transfer portal on Jan. 6. The complaint says Georgia’s collective sent Wilson a termination letter after he entered the portal that stated the term sheet was no longer enforceable because the terms were based on him staying at Georgia. The collective had already paid Wilson $30,000, but the termination letter asked for $390,000 for “all remaining License Fees that would’ve otherwise been payable under” the term sheet, according to the complaint. 

The 6-foot-4 defensive end alleges that Georgia violated its own terms of the agreement by disclosing specifics of the confidential term sheet after he entered the transfer portal and lied to unnamed Power 4 schools about his buyout being $1.2 million if he went to another school, according to the complaint. 

The Bulldogs allegedly did not enter Wilson’s name into the transfer portal and instead put forth an “all-out offensive” to keep him at UGA. He accuses Georgia’s collective of interfering with his business opportunities and violating the confidentiality provision of the term sheet by sharing its contents, including through a public court filing. Wilson is also suing Georgia for defamation after an athletics spokesperson said the school expects athletes to honor commitments, which Wilson said portrays him as dishonest and harms his reputation. 

Wilson is seeking for a judge to declare the term sheet he signed with Georgia to be a non-binding document aside from the confidentiality agreement. He is also seeking unspecified damages for “financial and reputational harm” the school and collective caused him in addition to legal fees and any other incurred damages. 

“I think if Georgia prevails in this action we can expect an explosion of litigation against student-athletes,” Jensen said to FOS. 

A Georgia spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.