Last Chance for Compensation: Recent Lawsuit Highlights Continued Need for College Athlete Representation

Six former football players from East Mississippi Community College (“EMCC”), made famous from the Netflix show Last Chance U, have filed a lawsuit against the streaming service seeking $30 million for exploiting their name image, and likeness, as well as harming their reputations.[i] The players, John Franklin III, Ronald Ollie, Cary Sidney Reavis II, Deandre Johnson, Tim Bonner, and Isaiah Wright, played at EMCC during the 2015 and 2016 seasons.[ii]

The lawsuit, which also named show runner Greg Whiteley and the National Junior College Athletic Association as defendants, claims that the show portrayed them in a way that was “misleading, offensive, or highly objectionable.”[iii] Ollie, who went unsigned by the Baltimore Ravens and was released by the Oakland Raiders in 2019, alleged that his portrayal in the show as being “lazy, unmotivated, and lacking work ethic” was a false narrative that directly impacted his ability to have an NFL career.[iv]

The suit goes on to claim that the NJCAA saw increases in its revenues as its popularity “skyrocketed” because of the show’s popularity.[v] Additionally, EMCC “generated a wealth of revenue by selling player merchandise,” and Conde Nast, another defendant, “received a large amount of money from Netflix in exchange for the rights to publish Last Chance U.”[vi]

Finally, the lawsuit claims that the players were all coerced into signing contracts due to unfair bargaining practices. Specifically, the lawsuit claims that players would be presented with contracts in the middle of practices, with their practice eligibility threatened if they did not sign.[vii] Additionally, the players claim they had no real negotiation power, no meaningful choice, and were not advised to read the contracts fully before signing.[viii]

Xavier Lucas and the Big Ten’s Revenue-Sharing Contracts

While at first glance, it appears that the East Mississippi players will likely lose their lawsuit,[ix] it does highlight a continuing issue in the world of NIL: highly restrictive contracts and a lack of representation for college athletes. The recent saga surrounding former Wisconsin, now University of Miami, cornerback Xaiver Lucas provides a stark example.

In December 2024, just before leaving winter break, Lucas signed a “binding two-year NIL agreement” with Wisconsin.[x] When Lucas decided to enter the transfer portal two weeks later, Wisconsin refused to release him, citing that it was “inconsistent with the representations and mutual understandings of the agreement.”[xi] Lucas has since taken the unprecedented step of transferring to Miami with plans to join the football team in the spring 2026 semester.[xii]

While Wisconsin has refused to share the details of the contract Lucas has signed, some Big Ten schools have recently shared the details of similar agreements.[xiii] The agreements are titled Memorandum of Understandings (“MOU”) between the school and athlete, explicitly stating they are not “pay-for-play.”[xiv] However, the terms seem to be inconsistent with that relationship as the MOUs ask the athletes to sign over all their NIL rights, which then permits the schools to sublicense them to “any and all third parties.”[xv] Finally, the agreements force the athletes to surrender any legal claim to employee status, agree to a moral clause stating they will remain in good standing with the school, and include a restriction clause where the athlete agrees they will not make “any similar commitment to enroll at and/or compete in athletics for another college or university.”[xvi]

This type of contract raises questions about whether college athletes like Lucas or the EMCC players should be considered employees of their respective schools. While the agreements do include an aggressive section titled “No Employment,” the agreements allow for schools to increase and decrease the amount of compensation they received based on the athlete’s performance, which would seem to indicate a pay for play situation.[xvii] Moreover,, the agreements also include sets of “representations, warranties, and covenants,” all standard terms in any business contract.[xviii] As the approval date of the House settlement draws nearer, it will be interesting to see how agreements like this are challenged, along with addressing the growing need for representation of college athletes.

[i] https://www.reuters.com/sports/last-chance-u-stars-sue-netflix-others-30m-2025-02-12/#:~:text=February%2012%20%2D%20Six%20former%20junior,Front%20Office%20Sports%20reported%20Tuesday.

[ii] Id.

[iii] https://frontofficesports.com/last-chance-u-players-file-lawsuit-netflix/

[iv] Id.

[v] Id.

[vi] Id.

[vii] https://x.com/Jason_Morrin/status/1889386709801951461

[viii] https://www.sportico.com/law/analysis/2025/last-chance-u-netflix-lawsuit-1234827854/

[ix] Id.

[x] https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6071080/2025/01/18/xavier-lucas-transfer-portal-miami-wisconsin/

[xi] Id.

[xii] Id.