Oregon State running back Damien Martinez, who has announced he will be entering the transfer portal, says the NIL collective, Dam Nation, lied to him about the amount of money he would make through the program, a claim vehemently denied by the collective itself.
"I want everyone to know that they did not buy me a house. I did," Martinez told The Oregonian in text messages, implying that Dam Nation did not live up to its promises. "They did not buy me the car. I DID. They did not give me $400K. I didn't receive even 100K of the 400K.
"Like they say, (it's) a business decision. All these fans saying I got this stuff and that they gave me everything. The collective didn't give me anything. They lied."
Dam Nation co-founder Kyle Bjornstad denied Martinez's allegations, telling the paper that whatever commitments were made to Martinez were fulfilled.
"Every single that I or this collective has said that they will do for the student-athlete, we have 1,000 percent delivered, period. That's a fact," Bjornstad said.
While he declined to offer a dollar amount for Martinez's NIL package, Bjornstad said Dam Nation issued him a first quarter payment prior to the end of March, noting that Dam Nation typically pays OSU athletes each quarter throughout the year.
"Damien did this last year, without issue," Bjorstad said, adding that Martinez was provided an automobile through his freshman and sophomore seasons through and endorsement deal with an auto dealership. Months later, Martinez wanted a different car but didn't go through the collective to make the deal.
"We absolutely got him a car, got him an NIL opportunity. It was a brand new car," Bjornstad said. "We never promised him a second car. Never. Never."
Bjornstad said Dam Nation has never been in the business of providing student-athletes with houses.
