Florida Atlantic University filed lawsuits against four former student-athletes after they transferred, breaking their NIL contracts.
According to CBS12, Asaad Waseem, Tyler Stolsky, Zion Paret and Gemari Sands were football players during the 2025 season under head coach Zach Kittley. All four men transferred to other schools, and now FAU claims they are liable for 50% of unpaid licensing fees.
In the lawsuit, FAU claims Waseem owes $30,000, Stolsky owes $18,000, Paret owes $12,000 and Snds owes $9,000.
Related: Duke QB Can Enter Portal Despite NIL Contract, But He Can’t Play Elsewhere Yet
FAU’s case stands to set a precedent in Florida, as the school asks the judge in the case to “decide if a clause requiring the player to pay back half the money after transferring holds up, or crosses the line under Florida law.”
For Sands in particular, FAU offered a timeline of payments and violations. “Running back Gemari Sands, who now plays for Florida State, signed his NIL agreement with FAU on July 1, 2025, and gave FAU notice of his transfer on Jan. 9, 2026. Between July 2025 and December 2025, Sands was paid $1,000 per month.”
According to Sports Illustrated, FAU had increased Sands’ licensing fee to $18,000 on Dec. 31, just days before he transferred to Florida State.
“Initially, we saw universities being a little hesitant to sue athletes. We saw them maybe going after other universities who were poaching their athletes – now we’re starting to see universities feel more comfortable going after athletes themselves," said David Weber, the faculty director of the Sports Law Program at the University of Oregon.
When Duke University filed a similar lawsuit against former quarterback Darian Mensah, AB polled readers to get a pulse on the public’s opinion toward NIL contract buyouts and legal actions. At that time, 90% of readers said that NIL contracts should be absolutely binding.
