Major Miami Hurricanes booster John Ruiz has been named the third most ambitious Name, Image and Likeness collective by On3.Com. Ruiz has been the driving force behind the Miami men’s and women’s basketball teams and football team adding several key transfers over the last month.
Ruiz has quickly made a difference for the Miami athletic program as the NIL is taking off during the first full offseason for many sports since it was instituted on July 1, 2021. Tennessee, Oregon, Florida and Texas were ranked first, second, fourth and fifth by On3. NIL has become a virtual college sports arms race.
The athletic programs that have adopted and embraced NIL are thriving in recruiting and the transfer portal. Being in a major global city, Miami Hurricanes athletes will have a nearly endless amount of endorsement opportunities. The successful schools will figure out how NIL works best for them and their athletes.
The majority of the transfers Miami has added during the 2022 offseason have come from much smaller markets. Mitchell Agude and Caleb Johnson from UCLA and Jacob Lichtenstein from USC transferred to the Miami football program. Eric Prisbell of On3 wrote about what Ruiz has done for the Miami Hurricanes.
If you are truly paying someone for their NIL, there has to be a legitimate business purpose. Just raising money to simply pay a player is pay for play not pay for work. So yes, I think they are very problematic and will die out soon. https://t.co/ppWHheQpgg
— John H. Ruiz, CEO LifeWallet and Attorney at Law (@JohnHRuiz) May 3, 2022
"3. John Ruiz (Miami)“The avalanche of NIL activity Ruiz has spearheaded for Miami athletes technically qualifies the billionaire as a director because this is one deep-pocketed individual creating deals for athletes. But we’d be remiss if Ruiz were not included on this list because of his sheer impact in shaping the contours of the space.Ruiz has allocated $10 million to spend on compensating student-athletes because he wants the Hurricanes to win. He has worked to sign more than 110 active Miami athletes to marketing deals to promote two of his companies, LifeWallet and Cigarette Racing, the Miami Herald has reported.Nijel Pack, who recently transferred from the Kansas State men’s basketball team to Miami, agreed to a LifeWallet deal that will give him $800,000 total over two years plus the use of a car.On the women’s basketball side, Haley and Hanna Cavinder, prominent social media influencers, recently announced they were transferring from Fresno State to Miami. The terms of their Ruiz-driven NIL deals were not disclosed. As one industry source said of Ruiz, he is “as bold as it gets” and also effective.”"
The Pack deal caused some reported strife with rising fourth-year junior guard Nijel Pack. Wong reportedly signed a $100,000 deal with Life Wallet and Cigarette Racing. When Pack signed his deal, Wong reportedly felt slighted. Ruiz subsequently said he will not re-negotiate but will help Wong acquire more NIL deals.
Miami should continue to be among the leaders in NIL led by Ruiz. In the first full recruiting cycle with the Class of 2023, NIL will begin to become prevalent with high school signees. The Cavinders will hopefully increase attendance and notoriety for the women’s basketball program. Miami has become polarizing again in college athletics.