6 Former FSU Players Sue Leonard Hamilton over 'Unpaid Promises' of $1.5M NIL Money

Six former Florida State men's basketball players have filed suit against Seminoles head coach Leonard Hamilton over allegations of "unpaid promises" tied to NIL money, according to Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger.

"The six plaintiffs—Darin Green Jr., Josh Nickelberry, Primo Spears, Cam'Ron Fletcher, De'Ante Green and Jalen Warley—allege that Hamilton promised each of them $250,000 in NIL payments from the coach's 'business partners,'" Dellenger reported.

"The players never received the payments despite Hamilton promising the money to each member of the 2023-24 team in two separate team meetings as well as in individual conversations with some players and their families. Several players transferred to Florida State under the assurance that they would receive the money."

Florida State has responded to the allegations, saying the school has been in compliance and knows of "no unfulfilled commitments" from NIL:

Darin Green Jr. and Nickelberry were both seniors on the 2023-24 squad, while Spears, Fletcher, Warley and De'Ante Green all entered the transfer portal. Watkins, Nickelberry and Spears signed with the Seminoles out of the portal for last season.

To support their allegations, the players said in their complaint they have text messages from teammates, Hamilton and Will Cowen, who's connected with FSU's Rising Spear NIL collective, per Dellenger.

The Yahoo Sports report said the players reached out to Cowen and Hamilton at various points to say they "needed the money to pay taxes, rent and car notes, and that they were 'tired of the lies.'"

Another alleged revelation is that some Seminoles players were planning to boycott what proved to be a 76-67 loss to Duke last February. Dellenger reported the players relented when Hamilton purportedly "re-emphasized that the money would be in the players' accounts the very next week."

Florida State wound up finishing 17-16 and missing the NCAA tournament for the third straight year. The Seminoles are off to a 9-4 start but have dropped their first two games of 2024-25, Hamilton's 23rd year at the helm. This is the last year of the extension with FSU he signed in 2021.