However, according to several contracts between Big Ten schools and their players that ESPN has previously reviewed, these deals explicitly state that athletes are not being paid to play football for the university. Since the school is technically paying only to use the player's NIL rights, it's not clear if a judge will consider it fair to enforce a part of the contract that dictates where the player attends school.
Here’s the loophole
Well, looks like Wisky might lose this one. A contract's a contract and the wording cited might ace them out of the claim against the U.
I guess that verbiage was included to comply with the former NCAA rule against the school paying players directly. Now that that's legal, I'm guessing future contracts will be worded accordingly. Also guessing they will be multi-year with mutual buyouts, much like coaching contracts.
I'm also guessing that the wording of contracts might get to be a recruiting tool. Just one example would be: School A offers $500K/year but has a $500K buyout. School B also offers $500K but doesn't have a buyout.
The permutations around amount of compensation, length of contract, buyout terms, etc., etc. are endless. I'd bet a bunch of money that they're going to get more and more like professional contracts -- a lot of standard boiler plate, but specific terms tailored to the desires of the individual player.
Which is yet another reason why a CBA is the only sane solution to this mess.