Chansky’s Notebook: Squeeze is On – Chapelboro.com

Art Chansky’s Sports Notebook is presented by The Casual Pint. YOUR place for delicious pub grub paired with local beer. Choose from 35 rotating taps and over 200 beers in the cooler.

Miami pioneered NIL, now its biggest source is drying up.

Remember when NIL first came into the picture, and coaches and fans called it the “Wild West”? It was because certain schools jumped the gun with wealthy fans who offered money to buy players and then worried about the details later.

Miami was one of the schools that had a billionaire backing their NIL program, which was funded by their “NIL King” for how much he was disbursing.

The story involves healthcare entrepreneur John Ruiz, who famously paid basketball star Nijel Pack $800,000 plus a car to transfer from Kansas State and sign with the Hurricanes. Ruiz also put up the money to get the blonde Cavinder sisters to sign with the U.S. women’s basketball team.

Pack still plays for Miami, but the NIL kingpin is now in deep trouble with his company, LifeWallet, which reported a loss of more than $200 million in 2023. Ruiz reportedly spent $10 million on NIL deals with Canes players and had to tell his investors that their money was gone forever as LifeWallet is under federal and civil investigations.

Miami and Ruiz were among the schools and donors who used the broadest interpretations of the NIL guidelines provided by the NCAA, which at the time said it would not investigate irregularities and punish cheaters. And of course, it’s nothing like a private equity investment because Ruiz wasn’t getting any return on the NIL money he paid to athletes.

Ruiz’s commitment to help fund a much-needed football stadium closer to campus in Miami is also up in smoke as he and LifeWallet have been subpoenaed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC investigated the company and has since said it has “substantial doubts” about its viability going forward.

Ruiz won’t go bankrupt, as he was listed among Forbes’ billionaires in 2023 with a net worth of $1.5 billion. But Miami’s reliance on him could leave the school without enough money to continue its NIL program while Ruiz is in litigation.

Miami women’s basketball has been punished by the NCAA and new president Charlie Baker, who began following up on reports of shady NIL deals and discovered that the U had held impermissible meetings with recruits, whatever that means.

On the NIL spectrum, most schools are either still doing what they started with or have revamped their programs, such as UNC consolidating its football and basketball teams under the Carolina NIL, which is reorganizing.

It’s another unknown about the ever-changing landscape of college athletics. Athletes and their agents are negotiating with the schools that recruit them, but when it comes to setting limits on the amount of money at stake, that train has long since left the station.

Featured image via Associated Press/Rebecca Blackwell

Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including bestsellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He contributed to the WCHL for decades, making his first appearance as a student in 1971. His His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column airs weekly in Chapelboro.

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