NCAA Digging into Miami’s NIL Deals, Meets UM Booster

The University of Miami is facing an inquiry by the NCAA regarding NIL deals involving the school’s athletes. 

The NCAA has conducted interviews with those involved with Miami athletics, including Miami booster and billionaire John Ruiz — who pledged to spend at least $10 million on NIL deals. 

• Ruiz has signed 115 athletes to NIL pacts, with the majority being Miami students.
• He has already built an NIL payroll that is roughly $7 million.
• The inquiry is believed to be the first serious inquiry into a college athletic department since the NIL era began in July 2021. 

The NCAA’s probe into Miami and Ruiz is the result of a broad set of rules governing NIL deals that continue to be updated since being enacted last July. 

The guidelines prohibit deals from being used as recruiting inducements or forms of pay-for-play — including deals from boosters and their collectives.

Ruiz’s involvement in a potential NIL violation comes after two of his companies — healthcare application LifeWallet and Cigarette Racing Team — secured a two-year, $800,000 endorsement deal with Nijel Pack, a men’s basketball transfer from Kansas State. 

What’s Next 

Ruiz believes that the NCAA’s inquiry will show no signs of NIL violations. “I’m extremely comfortable with what we are doing,” Ruiz told Sports Illustrated. “I have nothing to hide.”

Others, like the SEC Network’s Paul Finebaum and AL.com’s John Talty, have said they believe the NCAA will continue its previous mode of operation by delivering little to no enforcement.