Ex-FSU basketball players sue coach for $1.5M in unpaid NIL royalties

Dec. 30 (UPI) -- A group of six former Florida State basketball players sued Leonard Hamilton on Monday, alleging that the Seminoles coach failed to fulfill promises that should have brought $1.5 million in NIL royalties.

Darin Green Jr., Josh Nickelberry, Primo Spears, Cam'Ron Fletcher, De' Ante Green and Jalen Warley filed the complaint in Circuit Court of the Second Judicial Circuit in Leon County, Fla.

Florida State did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The players are seeking $250,000 apiece in compensatory damages "based on the amounts they were individually promised and never paid," the complaint states, in addition to other damages and relief.

The players alleged Hamilton made "promise after promise of compensation to the plaintiffs to secure their commitment to FSU." They also said the coach did not "point to any of FSU's NIL collectives as the source of such promised funds," but "told the players and their families that the money he promised to pay would emanate from his business partners."

The players said they realized near the end of the 2023-24 season that Hamilton was "unlikely to fulfill his repeated promises" and decided to boycott practices and a Feb. 17 game against Duke.

They complaint states that Hamilton responded by telling the players they would be paid the following week. The players did play against Duke, but said they never received the promised payments.

The 20-page complaint includes several screenshots from text message conversations -- allegedly between the players, Hamilton and other parties -- about the unpaid NIL payments.

Green averaged 11.3 points per game -- the second-best total on the team -- last season for the Seminoles, who went 17-16 and did not make the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. He also averaged 3.0 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.0 assist over his 32 starts.

The 6-foot-4 guard spent his first seasons at Central Florida. He averaged a career-best 13.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in 2022-23, his first season with the Seminoles.

Nickelberry spent his first two seasons at Louisville. He played at La Salle in 2021-22 and 2022-23. The 6-foot-4 guard, who averaged 11 points per game during his two seasons at La Salle, averaged just 2.5 points per appearance over 32 games last season for the Seminoles.

Spears spent his freshman year at Duquesne in 2021-22. He played at Georgetown in 2022-23. The 6-foot-3 guard averaged 10.6 points, the third-most on the team, over 24 appearances for the Seminoles last season. He averaged 22.2 points per game -- the sixth-most in the nation -- over 12 starts this season at UTSA.

Fletcher spent his first season at Kentucky. He averaged 7.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game over three seasons with the Seminoles from 2021-22 through last season. He averaged a career-high 10.8 points per game in 2022-23 and 6.7 points per appearances in 2023-24. He logged an average of 2.0 points per game through five appearances this season at Xavier.

Warley averaged 7.5 points per game over 33 appearances, including 32 starts, last season for the Seminoles. He averaged 6.0 points over 96 appearances over his three seasons with the program. He is now redshirting at Gonzaga.

De'Ante Green spent the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns with the Seminoles. He averaged 3.2 points per game over 55 appearances. He averaged 7.0 points per game over 13 appearances this season at South Florida.

Hamilton, 76, has a 452-285 record over 23 seasons with the Seminoles. He also coached at Oklahoma State and Miami and owns an overall record of 652-495.

The Seminoles (9-4) will host Syracuse (6-6) at 6 p.m. EST Saturday in Tallahassee.