Miami Hurricanes guard Isaiah Wong will enter the transfer portal on Friday if his name, image and likeness (NIL) compensation isn't increased, his NIL agent, Adam Papas of NEXT Sports Agency, told ESPN on Thursday.
"If Isaiah and his family don't feel that the NIL number meets their expectations they will be entering the transfer portal tomorrow, while maintaining his eligibility in the NBA draft and going through the draft process," Papas said
Wong, a two-time ACC All-Conference player and the second-leading scorer on a Hurricanes team that reached the NCAA tournament's Elite Eight, declared for the draft earlier this week.
"Isaiah would like to stay at Miami," Papas said. "He had a great season leading his team to the Elite Eight. He has seen what incoming Miami Hurricane basketball players are getting in NIL and would like his NIL to reflect that he was a team leader of an Elite Eight team."
Florida state law doesn't permit schools to be involved in NIL deals, and according to a Miami spokesperson, due to state law, it doesn't discuss or comment on NIL-specific deals. Papas confirmed to ESPN he isn't speaking directly with the Hurricanes' coaching staff.
Papas says he recently negotiated an NIL deal for Kansas State transfer Nijel Pack that included $800,000 over two years plus a car. Pack was considered the No. 1 player in the transfer portal before committing to Miami. The deal was funded by billionaire John Ruiz, who has been at the forefront of the NIL movement, orchestrating deals across several sports. Among them are deals with women's college basketball twins Haley and Hanna Cavinder -- who transferred from Fresno State to Miami -- and UCLA football transfers Caleb Johnson and Mitchell Agude.
Ruiz has 111 deals signed or pending with Hurricanes athletes to promote his companies, LifeWallet and Cigarette Racing, according to a report in the Miami Herald on Wednesday.
"It's a unique situation just completing Nijel Pack's deal with Miami," said Papas, who also represents Miami power forward Jordan Walker and South Dakota State star Baylor Scheierman for their NIL deals. "Understanding what John Ruiz is trying to do with the NIL space and the city of Miami, we feel the value of Isaiah Wong should meet or exceed the value of an incoming transfer."
Ruiz confirmed his knowledge of Wong's dissatisfaction with his NIL compensation
This is a wild moment. The kid is using his agent to negotiate with the University Of Miami for more money or else he’s moving on. True watershed moment for these young Kings
