Florida football: Gervon Dexter’s NIL issues a warning to all athletes

Florida football has started to develop its NIL game to be on par with the rest of the country, but one of its ex-players wasn’t the benefactor of their upgraded services.

Gervon Dexter, who was a star DT with the Gators from 2020-2022, is currently filing a lawsuit against the Big League Advance Fund, with whom he signed an NIL deal while in Gainesville.

Gervon’s claim is that the contract violates a provision in Florida’s NIL laws, which prevents a deal with a player from lasting beyond their team playing for a college program.

Gervon’s situation will serve as both a warning and a lesson for all the college athletes currently trying to navigate NIL.

Florida football: Not the only issue

Dexter’s situation is far from the first issue that an athlete has had with NIL but is one of the first to result in a lawsuit like this one.

The deal that Gerv signed with BLA stated that BLA would be entitled to 15% of his pre-tax NFL earnings over the next 25 years, in exchange for a one-time payment of $436,485 in 2022.

The specific law that is giving Dexter and his lawyers grounds says this:

"“The duration of a contract for representation of an intercollegiate athlete or compensation for the use of an intercollegiate athlete’s name, image or likeness may not extend beyond her or his participation in an athletic program at a postsecondary educational institution.”"

Based on what is currently being reported, it seems that Dexter should be able to win this case and get what is rightfully his.

But college athletes should take a close look at everything that has happened with Gervon and learn from these mistakes. People trying to facilitate NIL deals may see the potential for a massive payout, and be willing to bend some rules to maximize their check.

As people become more aware of NIL and all its stipulations, hopefully, we won’t see many more issues like this one.