In an effort to escape the risk of having to pay more than $1 million in fines for breaking a NIL (name, image, likeness) agreement, Chicago Bears rookie Gervon Dexter Sr. has filed a lawsuit.
Dexter, who played collegiate football for the Florida Gators, filed a lawsuit, according to Keith Brockway of The Gainesville Sun, in an effort to have the NIL contract he made with a Delaware-based business voided.
Brockway stated that the contract is unenforceable due to a number of reasons, including a violation of Florida’s NIL laws, according to Dexter’s legal team:
“Former Florida football defensive lineman Gervon Dexter Sr. has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Gainesville, contending a future earnings clause in a $436,485 Name, Image and Likeness deal he signed in May of 2022 violated state NIL laws.
Per terms of the deal that Dexter signed with Big League Advance Fund II LLC, a company based in Wilmington, Del., Dexter would forfeit 15 percent of his future NFL earnings for the next 25 years. Dexter signed the deal in May of 2022, before the start of his junior season and declared for the NFL Draft in December…
Dexter’s Tampa-based attorneys contend that the contract is void because it extended beyond the term of Dexter’s eligibility as a student-athlete, and that the agents representing Big League Advance Fund, Michael Schwimer and Scott McBrien, were not licensed in Florida. In addition, Big League Advance Fund failed to give Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin notice within 72 hours of the agreement, another violation of state NIL law.”
Update: #Bears rookie 2nd round pick, DT Gervon Dexter, who played for the Florida Gators suing Big League Advance Fund for violation of Florida's NIL and agency statutes, via @DraftDiamonds
Dexter wasn't aware of a clause in a bad NIL deal he signed. The alleged clause says… pic.twitter.com/iy4NL0Fi0z
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 6, 2023
Dexter would owe Big League Advanced Fund almost $1 million, according to Mark Schlabach of ESPN. The former Gators star inked a rookie contract for $6.72 million with the Bears.
The NCAA modified its rules in 2021, allowing collegiate players to earn money through NIL contracts. The NCAA has long been criticised for not allowing athletes to be paid, despite the fact that schools earn millions of dollars each year from their athletic departments.
The Bears selected Dexter, who is 6 feet 6 and 312 pounds, in the second round (53rd overall) in April. The talented defensive tackle got two sacks, one interception, and one pass defensed in his final season of college football.
