Right before Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs play their fifth straight SEC Championship Game against Alabama, the team started making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Word on the street is Kirby Smart’s program is suing Mizzou defensive end Damon Wilson (a former Dawg) for leaving the program and breaking his contract. According to college football insiders, this could be the beginning of the end for the transfer portal as we know it.

“Georgia is suing a former football player for almost half a million dollars.” Evan Hand said on X. “And this might be the beginning of the end for the transfer portal…” Georgia is taking former defensive end Damon Wilson to court.

Wilson played two years at Georgia, then transferred to Missouri, where he had a great season this year, racking up 20 tackles, 9 sacks, fumble recovery and a pick. Him transferring and playing too good might the reason it all started the issue.

The problem is tied to his NIL contract with the Classic City Collective, Georgia’s former collective. Wilson signed the deal while he was still with the Dawgs back in late 2024. He agreed to a 14-month contract that would pay him for things like appearances, events, and representing the team. The deal was worth about $500,000 in total, including $30,000 each month and two $40,000 bonuses for staying at Georgia.

Inside that contract, there was a “liquidated damages clause.” This basically means if Wilson left the school early by withdrawing or transferring, he would owe the rest of the unpaid money back to the school’s collective.

Wilson transferred before the deal ended after playing for them for 2 years back in January, and Georgia says that means he has to return $390k.

Georgia says they already paid Wilson $110,000, but because he did not finish the full contract, he legally owes the remaining amount. Many schools are now adding these clauses to stop players from leaving so easily. But this raises a big question: is it fair to punish student-athletes for making career decisions?

If Georgia wins the lawsuit, it could change college sports. Other schools might use the same type of contracts, which could lead to more lawsuits or pressure on players.

Some people believe athletes should honor contracts, while others think players should freely choose what is best for them. This case might set the first big rule for how NIL deals and transferring will work in the future.

Damon Wilson was aware of it the whole time

This actually was not the first time Damon heard about the money issue. He knew about it months earlier. In fact, back in January, when he was talking to other schools, he reportedly told them he had a $400,000 buyout sitting on his NIL rights.

That means any school that wanted him would have to pay Georgia’s collective that money before they could even pay him his own salary.

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When Wilson was first recruited, he received some very large NIL offers, even seven-figure numbers. He chose Georgia, and he was still one of the most expensive players in their 2023 class. Because NIL has become messy, with some players taking money and not fulfilling deals. And some schools promising money they never pay, Georgia started adding buyout clauses to protect themselves. Wilson’s contract was one of these.

So when Damon entered the transfer portal. He didn’t just carry his talent with him he carried that $400,000 buyout tag. For example, if he asked Missouri for $500,000 a year. Missouri would have to pay that after paying Georgia $400,000 just for the right to sign him.
Missouri was willing to do this.

They saw value in landing a high-level player and were ready to pay both the buyout and Damon’s own salary. But bigger programs like Ohio State were not. They reportedly backed away because paying Damon on top of the $400,000 fee was simply too much.

Wilson was told about the lawsuit in November 2025, and now he has only a short time to reply. If he doesn’t respond fast enough, the court can rule against him automatically.