Miami Hurricanes booster John Ruiz will help Isaiah Wong get other NIL deals
Miami Hurricanes booster John Ruiz credited Isaiah Wong‘s agent Adam Papas for calling him and that the parties agreed to find other NIL deals. Ruiz tweeted on Friday afternoon about the conversation and avoiding Wong entering into the transfer portal as Papas told ESPN on Thursday.
Wong was unhappy with his NIL deal at a reported $100K. Ruiz and his company Life Wallet agreed to a deal with Kansas State transfer Nijel Pack paying him $800K over two years, or $400K if he stays for one year after he committed to the Miami Hurricanes. Wong was upset a transfer received a bigger deal than he did per Papas.
Wong entered the NBA Draft earlier this week. The NBA Combine is May 16 through 22 in Chicago. Invites to the combine have not been made public yet. Wong will have until June 13 to withdraw from the NBA Draft and maintain his eligibility. With the extra year granted by Covid, Wong will be a fourth-year junior in 2022-23.
The Miami Herald spoke to Miami athletic director Dan Radakovich on Friday. Radakovich stated the athletic department cannot discuss NIL per state law. The Miami athletic department and Radakovich are grateful for Ruiz and the opportunities he provides the Hurricane athletes, but cannot discuss who they have deals with.
Glad Wong didn’t enter the portal. This is a great youngster and his mom is amazing. The deal remains the same, however, as I said day one I will help him get other NIL Deals. @AdamPapas87 saved the day. Great job Adam in calling me and getting the parties to speak! https://t.co/6MTOwtcXa4
— John H. Ruiz, CEO LifeWallet and Attorney at Law (@JohnHRuiz) April 29, 2022
Wong tweeted his own statement about the comments regarding his desire for an increase in his NIL deal. Ruiz credited Papas with getting everyone on the same page for the future. In the future, Wong stated he will be the only one making statements on his own behalf. Less than 10 months into NIL it will continue to evolve.
— Isaiah wong (@zaywong21) April 30, 2022
The comments by Papas to ESPN and the response from Wong on Friday set off a firestorm on social media and throughout college sports. ESPN college basketball analyst Seth Greenberg criticized Ruiz for acting like he owns the Miami basketball team in the opinion of the former Virginia Tech head coach.
Next. Isaiah Wong initially wanted NIL deal re-negotiated. dark
Nearly 10 months into NIL it has already changed a lot. The numbers athletes are receiving combined with the transfer portal have rapidly changed college sports. NIL deals will begin to impact recruiting and how athletes make decisions on which schools to attend and if they will stay with the programs they choose.