Louisville Punter Reveals NIL Conflict Escalation, Speaks on Sun Bowl Absence

The Louisville Cardinals were missing a key player during the Sun Bowl, and it is all to do with the Louisville NIL collective.

Nov 16, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; Louisville Cardinals punter Brady Hodges (93) punts the ball during the first quarter against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images / Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images

Brady Hodges has taken his grievances to the public over a situation that has been building since the early days of December.

The Louisville punter did not make an appearance with the team at the Sun Bowl, skipping the postseason game against the Washington Huskies. Hodges revealed on Tuesday that the university's NIL collective had not paid him what was promised.

Because of this disagreement, Hodges had not been with the team for quite some time, revealing he had been absent since Dec. 10, 2024. The senior graduated on Dec. 13, but he had been looking forward to his share of the NIL money since the beginning of September.

Although no amount has been disclosed, it is clear that each player on the team is receiving compensation from Louisville's official NIL collective, 502Circle.

No prior statement had been released regarding Hodges' decision to opt out of the bowl game. Announcers of the game caught on to his absence and called down to the field to gather an explanation. Hodges had released his statement on X during the game, blasting 502Circle for their failure to pay.

I have not been with the team since December 10th. @502_Circle told me September 6th, they would be paying and are still yet to hold up their end of the deal. I graduated on December 13th and had every intention on being with the team had they held up their end of the deal.

— bradyhodges (@bradyhodges2) December 31, 2024

This controversy is just one of many, as student-athletes from all over are experiencing troubles with NIL collectives. The intention behind establishing university-specific NIL collectives was to ensure that every student-athlete could be given the opportunity to enter contracts and be compensated for their work.

Athletes can land bigger deals through private sponsorship, however, official university NIL collectives were made to bridge the gap between fans and the athletes.

502Circle has yet to respond to the accusations, causing some worry for the Cardinals as college football enters the transfer portal era.

Student-athletes that may have been looking to transfer to Louisville are bound to be turned off from any potential negotiations after hearing of Hodges' discontent with the Cardinals.

Based on projections from On3, 502Circle is the ninth-most funded NIL collective in college sports. Reports say that this collective has over 100 contracts with Louisville student-athletes, estimating a lump sum of $20 million available between the Cardinal's basketball and football programs.

Louisville is currently sitting at No. 1 in the transfer portal rankings, and was previously seen as a program that could snatch up some of the top moving prospects in college football.

With the controversy building, the Cardinals and 502Circle should be looking to make reparations in order to salvage the university's reputation.

Hodges has yet to make any updates on his X account following his post on Tuesday.