Maryland Basketball: Dispute arises over Ja'Kobi Gillespie's unpaid $100,000 NIL claim
On Monday, The Baltimore Sun reported that former Maryland Terrapin Ja'Kobi Gillespie was taking a Maryland NIL collective to court for refusing to pay on a previous agreement. The report indicated that Gillespie's lawyer, along with his father, say the former Terp has not been paid the full amount for an NIL contract he signed with Blueprint Sports last season.
"Ja'Kobi was promised he'd still receive his monthly checks regardless of whether he transferred, but that Blueprint now says it will not pay out the remainder of the agreement after he transferred to Tennessee in April."
But a new report from Jeff Ermann of 247Sports is pushing back on that claim. Ermann spoke to the former NIL director for Mayland basketball about the NIL deal with Gillespie, and he says it was a year-round commitment. Harry Geller, who is the founder of Turtle NIL, says he negotiated Gillespie's contract and that he isn't owed $100,000.
Former Maryland NIL director Harry Geller pushed back against Ja'Kobi Gillespie's unpaid NIL claims: "Why he is pursuing this is beyond me."https://t.co/RPKmwogQbd
— Jeff Ermann (@Jeff_Ermann) June 9, 2025
Geller explained that the contract with Gillespie included a clause that if he entered the transfer portal, all payments would stop. Geller says that the NIL contract was based on charitable work by the student-athlete and that it was expected to be a year-round commitment.
"It was always explained to the Gillispie family that if they transferred, the payments would stop, as it's a year-round commitment," Geller told Ermann.
The dispute between the two sides is headed to court, as the Gillespie family is pursuing legal action to receive the unpaid money as part of the NIL deal.
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Christopher Breiler launched Winged Helmet Media and began covering the Michigan Football program in an unofficial capacity in 2017. He then joined Wolverine Digest as part of the FanNation network in 2021 as a contributing writer, where he served as both a writer and a photographer on game days. In 2024, he took over as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI. In January of 2025, he took over as Publisher for Maryland On SI. His love for Michigan Football brought him into the industry, and his passion for being a content creator has led to some amazing experiences along the way.