Former UTSA forward Damari Monsanto made posts on social media Friday indicating Roadrunners coaches had misled him regarding NIL opportunities.
After three former UTSA athletes shared concerns of broken NIL promises on social media, a source in the Roadrunners athletics department said Saturday that all NIL contracts involving UTSA basketball players for the 2024-25 season had been fulfilled.
Damari Monsanto, UTSA’s top 3-point shooter who averaged 11.1 points per game last year, was the first to raise the issue Friday, posting to Twitter a screenshot of a text message with the caption “Lying about some bread ain’t real at all!” The image showed a message that reads “We can get you 125 right now,” seemingly referring to a $125,000 NIL payment. Follow-up messages mention the school has “got 125k straight NIL” and asks Monsanto if he plans to commit, apparently referring to his transfer decision last offseason. The sender and time stamps were cropped out of Monsanto’s post. Monsanto later quoted his own post with the caption “why my head coach just blocked my number.” Raekwon Horton, who averaged 12.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game last year, replied to the post by saying he “Never got my pape either,” seemingly using shorthand for “paper” as a reference to NIL payments. Guard Sky Wicks, who played in 10 games before leaving the team in December, also replied to Monsanto, writing, “Man tell me bout it.” UTSA coach Austin Claunch said in a text message Saturday that he did not block Monsanto’s number but was instead traveling at the time Monsanto reached out. He deferred further comment on the Roadrunners’ NIL operations to a department spokesperson. “I did not block Damari yesterday,” Claunch wrote, “when he was texting me in the afternoon, I was on a flight.” Monsanto, Horton and Wicks did not return social media messages seeking further comment. A UTSA spokesperson also declined to comment, citing the department’s policy of not sharing information on individual student-athlete NIL deals. Previous efforts to acquire contracts or financial data related to UTSA’s NIL arrangements through open records requests have been denied under privacy laws. A source in UTSA’s athletic department said all contracted agreements between Roadrunners NIL collectives and men’s basketball athletes had been paid, but the source declined to share any specific figures. “Anything the guys signed was fulfilled,” the source said, “and those deals were through the collectives.”
NIL Monsanto Damari Monsanto Raekwon Horton Sky Wicks Austin Claunch Twitter Roadrunners NIL
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Emily Damari: Hostage says scars show 'strength' ahead of surgeryEmily Damari, 28, lost two fingers while being taken captive during the 7 October 2023 attacks.
Read more »
Former Virginia Tech Offensive Coordinator Tyler Bowen Joins Ohio State Staff, Praised by Former PlayersTyler Bowen, the former offensive coordinator at Virginia Tech, is joining the Ohio State Buckeyes staff as their offensive line coach. Former players from Virginia Tech, including Bhayshul Tuten, Jaylin Lane, and Da’Quan Felton, who are all potential 2025 NFL draft picks, praised Bowen's coaching and work ethic.
Read more »
Colorado Buffaloes Quarterback Julian Lewis Top NIL Deals: $1.1 Million NIL ValuationColorado Buffaloes four-star quarterback Julian Lewis has one of the highest name, image, and likeness valuations out of his recruiting class.
Read more »
USC Trojans' JuJu Watkins Inks New NIL Deal: Nearing $1 Million NIL ValuationThe USC Trojans superstar, JuJu Watkins has announced her latest NIL deal with Degree Deodorant. It's the latest deal for Watkins, who has inked deals with Nike, Gatorade, and AT&T.
Read more »
1-on-1 with former UTSA star, Brahmas DB Corey Mayfield Jr.As Mayfield gets ready to embark on year two, KSAT 12 Sports sat down with the former UTSA star to hear about his debut season in the UFL, the relationship he’s building with legendary head coach Wade Phillips, his thoughts on San Antonio native Kellen Mond joining the quarterback room and much more.
Read more »
Investigators warn of online dangers after arrest of former judge, former fire chiefInvestigators with the Internet Crimes Against Children task force say an app allegedly used by a former judge and a former fire chief to access child sex abuse materials is often used by internet predators.
Read more »