Brady Hodges, the punter for Louisville, has made his concerns public over a situation that began in early December.
Hodges did not join the team at the Sun Bowl, missing the game against the Washington Huskies. On Tuesday, he revealed that the university’s NIL collective had not paid him the money that was promised to him.
Because of this disagreement, Hodges had been away from the team for a while, stating that he had not been with them since December 10, 2024. He graduated on December 13 but had been expecting his share of the NIL money since September.
Although the exact amount of money has not been shared, it is known that every player on the team receives compensation from Louisville’s official NIL collective, 502Circle.
Before this, there had been no official statement explaining Hodges’ decision to skip the bowl game. During the game, the announcers noticed his absence and reached out to get an explanation. Hodges then posted a statement on X (formerly Twitter) during the game, criticizing 502Circle for not paying him.
This situation is part of a larger trend where student-athletes across the country are facing issues with NIL collectives. The goal of creating university-specific NIL collectives was to make sure that every student-athlete could sign contracts and get paid for their efforts.
While athletes can secure larger deals through private sponsors, official NIL collectives are meant to help bridge the gap between fans and athletes.
502Circle has not yet addressed Hodges’ accusations, which has raised concerns among some people connected to Louisville, especially as college football has entered the era of the transfer portal.
Athletes considering transferring to Louisville might now be hesitant after hearing about Hodges’ issues with the team.
According to On3 projections, 502Circle is ranked as the ninth-most funded NIL collective in college sports. Reports indicate that this collective has over 100 contracts with Louisville student-athletes, with an estimated total of $20 million available for the school’s football and basketball programs.
Currently, Louisville is ranked No. 1 in the transfer portal rankings, and the team was previously seen as a strong contender for landing top prospects moving to new schools.
As the controversy continues to grow, Louisville and 502Circle will likely need to address the situation and fix things in order to protect the university’s reputation.
Hodges has not posted any new updates on his X account after his statement on Tuesday.
