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Jameson Williams may have signed an $83 million deal before this past season, but he’s aiming for more.
The Detroit Lions wide receiver is reportedly suing the NCAA, Big Ten and SEC, claiming they used his name, image and likeness without compensating him.
Before becoming the 12th pick of the 2022 NFL Draft, Williams starred at Alabama, shooting up draft boards. He had been at Ohio State before playing for the Crimson Tide.
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Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams reacts after scoring a touchdown in the first half of an NFL game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Philadelphia on Nov. 16, 2025. (Matt Rourke/AP)
“To date, Williams has received no fair compensation from the defendants for the full commercial value of his name, image and likeness. The defendants continue to profit financially from Jameson Williams’ name, image and likeness rights, while doing so without providing him with just compensation,” the suit states, according to The California Post.
Williams also reportedly wants the earnings he “would have received” from social media, as well as some of the “gaming TV group’s licensing revenue.”
Alabama’s Jameson Williams is stopped during the first half of the College Football Playoff championship game against Georgia in Indianapolis on Jan. 10, 2022. (Paul Sancya/AP)
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Williams was drafted into the NFL just months after college athletes were finally able to receive NIL money. However, he alleges that the parties engaged in anticompetitive collusion, price gouging, monopolistic practices, and deceptive branding in violation of the Cartwright Act, the Unfair Practices Act, the Sherman Antitrust Act, and the Lanham Act.
“Plaintiff received less — zero — than he would otherwise have received for the use of his name, image and likeness in a competitive marketplace, and was thus injured and seeks to recover those damages,” Williams’ lawsuit says.
Williams’ NFL career didn’t get off to the smoothest of starts, as his torn ACL in the 2022 national championship game hurt his draft stock a bit. After returning from injury at the end of his rookie season, he was then suspended in 2023 for gambling violations.
Alabama wide receiver Jameson Williams runs down the sideline on a long pass reception against New Mexico State in the first half of an NCAA college football game in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on Nov. 13, 2021. (Vasha Hunt/AP)
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Since then, however, he has proven to be one of the game’s best playmakers, recording 123 catches for 2,118 yards and 15 total touchdowns over the past two seasons.
