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Myron Medcalf, editor at ESPN
John Ruiz, once dubbed “Miami’s NIL King” by ESPN, is fighting to keep his castle intact.
Miami’s mega-promoter, who has spent millions on NIL contracts with Hurricanes athletes in recent years, told investors this week that there is “substantial doubt” his company, LifeWallet, will stay in business, according to an SEC filing. The news was first reported by the Miami Herald.
In the SEC filing, Ruiz said LifeWallet, a large medical claims company, had revenue of $7.7 million and suffered a net loss of $211 million last year. It is unclear whether the company’s financial problems will impact its NIL contracts with current athletes.
“The Company has concluded that, despite the financing arrangements referred to above, there is substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern,” Ruiz said in the SEC filing this week. “Unless we are successful in raising additional funds through the issuance of debt or equity securities, we have concluded that we are likely not able to continue as a going concern beyond the next twelve months.”
Ruiz, a lawyer, is the driving force behind efforts to build a new football stadium in Miami, for which he has committed several million dollars.
When the NIL rules were passed in 2021, Ruiz quickly became one of the faces of the new era, reportedly spending more than $10 million on athletes in the first year of the name, image and likeness allowances.
Ahead of the 2022-23 season, Ruiz has helped reshape Miami’s men’s and women’s basketball teams. He played a role in luring Haley and Hanna Cavinder – two of the most popular athletes of the NIL era – from Fresno State to Miami with significant contracts. He also publicly announced a two-year, $800,000 deal (including a new car) for former Kansas State point guard Nijel Pack, who is joining the Hurricanes.
When Isaiah Wong, the 2023 ACC Player of the Year, reportedly threatened to leave Miami if he didn’t get more NIL money, Ruiz made it happen and convinced him to stay. That season, Miami’s women’s team reached the Elite Eight for the first time and the men’s team made its first trip to the Final Four. After Miami’s victory over Texas in the men’s Elite Eight this year, Miami head coach Jim Larranaga hugged Ruiz on the court.
Ruiz told ESPN at the time that he had discovered a blueprint for other schools in the NIL era.
“If you do it right, yes,” he said at the time.
But both the NCAA and federal investigators have questioned whether Ruiz did everything right.
In 2023, the NCAA imposed sanctions on Miami – the first related to NIL – for the role of the coach who suggested a meeting between Ruiz and the Cavinder twins. Both the SEC and the Department of Justice are investigating LifeWallet’s activities.
