Six former Florida State men’s basketball players are suing coach Leonard Hamilton over nonpayment of NIL compensation they claim they were promised.
According to a complaint filed Monday in Leon County (Florida) Circuit Court, players Darin Green Jr., Josh Nickelberry, Primo Spears, Cam’Ron Fletcher, De’Ante Green and Jalen Warley claim they were supposed to receive $250,000 each from Hamilton’s ‘business partners.’
The players’ frustration over the delay in payments led to them walking out of practice last season before a Feb. 17 game against Duke. According to the complaint, all six were also planning to skip the Duke game until Hamilton found out about it and reassured the players the money would be deposited into their accounts.
They ended up playing, but were never paid, according to the suit.
The complaint, which contains several text-message exchanges between players and some between players and Hamilton, says that ‘all hope is lost’ for the plaintiffs to recover the money they’re owed now that they are no longer at Florida State.
Green and Nickelberry concluded their college eligibility last spring. The others all transferred to other schools after the season: Spears is now at UTSA, Fletcher is at Xavier, Green is at South Florida and Warley is redshirting at Gonzaga.
The 76-year-old Hamilton is in the final year of his contract at Florida State. The Seminoles have a 9-4 overall record, and are 0-2 in ACC play.
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