Huskies fans locally, and many college football fans nationally, are rightfully wondering what the hell happened last week at Montlake. Some might assume that in a national culture and economy given over to the garnering of attention, the research-intense University of Washington landed upon a eureka moment: Look as foolish as possible!
I find that a tad harsh. Emphasis on tad.
To help understand how star quarterback Demond Williams Jr. signed on Jan. 2 a $4 million, one-year deal to play his junior year with UW, quickly say never mind, seek the transfer portal to accept a rumored better offer, then return sheepishly after meeting head coach Jedd Fisch, here are three winds that helped create the hurricane:
- The college football industry is over-served with scoundrels, rapscallions, rogues, grifters, mountebanks, vulgarians, desperadoes and scofflaws. And that’s just ESPN and Fox Sports.
- Williams is 19 years old.
- This industry, ever in legal and business tumult, has reached, temporarily at least, Defcom Dorothy Parker: “What fresh hell is this?”
So far, none of the parties have explained publicly to anyone’s satisfaction exactly what happened after the Huskies made Williams one of the college nation’s highest-paid QBs, and used a Big Ten Conference-approved template to execute the deal, which prohibits use of the transfer portal. In a solo press conference last week, Fisch did own up to a little something:
“I’m the 49-year-old,” he said. “I’m the head coach, I’m responsible for our program.”
Hardly breaking news, but we’ll take any available accountability. To help remedy the immediate, insulting part of this contretemps, Fisch fell on his sword over the timing of Williams’ social media post announcing the request for departure to the portal.
It occurred when many in the UW athletics community and beyond were at a memorial service for Mia Hamant, a star player on the women’s soccer team who died at 21 of kidney cancer. Fisch apologized on behalf of the football program to coach Nicole Van Dyke. Williams also publicly apologized via social media, but he has yet to answer media questions. Perhaps that obligation was not included in his new UW deal.
It seems other things also were not thought through. Such as: How did Williams think it was OK to renege on his original deal? I realize that attending college classes is more optional now than it ever was, but this part of the deal was playground-level stuff. Here’s $200 for those sneakers, kid; you bring them at noon here, or I break your face.
And how did Fisch not know that Williams apparently did not know? He recruited him out of high school when Fisch was head coach at Arizona, then poached him off the Wildcats roster when the Huskies poached the coach to succeed Kalen DeBoer, who was poached by Alabama. It’s not as if the two were on a blind date. But apparently Fisch did get across to Williams and his camp that, if Williams did go via the portal to another program, UW was prepared to sue for every dime of the $4 million and be likely to prevail.
Fisch declined to explain details, offering only squishy obfuscations about learnings.
“It’s important that we all recognize how we can learn from this,” he said. “Our team is really full of character and integrity. We really believe in doing the right thing. We’re also — me as the head coach, our assistant coaches, our players — we’re all learning, and we’re all trying to get better and better and better.”
Blah. Blah. Blah. Blah.
We may never know what went down. But there was one curious tell: The departure of Williams’ agent, longtime NFL figure Doug Hendrickson.
On his X account, Hendrickson volunteered: “I have made the decision to end my representation of Demond Williams Jr. immediately due to philosophical differences.”
He didn’t elaborate, and went on to wish Williams the best, but the episode may represent a sports business first: An agent taking, and getting, the moral high ground. His decision to run away quickly and publicly suggests he wanted none of this stink on his reputation.
The stink lingers upon Williams and Fisch, and more broadly, the new play-for-pay arrangement mostly in big-time football and men’s basketball. While the court-ordered reform was long overdue, and the revolution in paying players is full of mysteries and mistakes, the Huskies’ program had to take an own-goal nationally. Obviously, other schools pursued Williams, but there are no rules mandating disclosures. LSU and Miami were speculated in media reports to have been the provocateurs seeking the services of Williams, LSU particularly because new coach Lane Kiffin needs a QB and loves to break rules, conventions and minds. But the industry’s new rules do not preclude aggressive practices. How do you think Fisch and athletics director Pat Chun came to UW?
As far as Williams and the future of Huskies football, I suspect that by the first kickoff in 2026, little resentment will have lingered. It’s all business, always has been, and it’s hard to blame Williams for thinking he might have made a mistake to accept $4 million if another program was offering $5 million or $6 million. But Hendrickson is experienced in the rules governing premier talent: Make your best deal, live with it, know it’s a short gig and people watch you.
Hendrickson comes by such knowledge in an authentic way: Perhaps his most prominent client is Marshawn Lynch.
After the Seahawks were eliminated from the 2020 playoffs 28-23 by the Packers in Green Bay, I was standing a few feet from Lynch near the visitors’ locker-room podium at Lambeau Field. Multiple late-season injuries to running backs had made coach Pete Carroll desperate for an emergency hire. He knew who was ’bout that action, boss — even if Lynch hadn’t played since 2019. Less Than Beast Mode carried 12 times for 26 yards but scored two touchdowns.
After some cajoling, Lynch, then 34, took to the podium. Uninterested in taking questions about the loss or the end of his career, he shared about a minute to deliver some memorable advice to younger players (translation from the Oakland street patois: Chickens is money):
“It’s a vulnerable time for a lot of these young dudes, you know? They don’t be takin’ care of their chicken, right? You feel me? If I had the opportunity to let these young guys know something, I’d say take care of your money, African. Because that shit don’t last forever. Now I done been over there on the other side, retirement, and it’s good when you can get over there and do what the fuck you want to.
“So while y’all’s at it right now, take care y’alls bodies, take care y’alls chicken, ya feel me, take care y’alls mentals. Cuz look, we ain’t lastin’ that long. So start takin’ care of y’alls mentals, y’alls bodies, and y’alls chicken. When y’all ready to walk away, be able to do what you want to do.”
Williams was about 12 then, so he might have missed the sermon. Now that he has a lot of chicken, but not all of it, he needs to take care of it, being aware that even Beast Mode Lynch had to obey sidelines, referees and contracts.
And Jedd Fisch, fergawdsakes, take care y’all’s mentals.
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It is hard to root for teams that are just businesses rather than symbols of any local character or institution, or enthusiastically support players and coaches who are just moving parts in a national machine.
Then again, if you are in the growing part of the fan base that cares about whether the next play call is a pass or run, because you have a bet on it, your rooting interest is altogether different.
Asking for a friend: Does UW have a transfer portal for fans?
No, but we are free to move on from college big-time sports by simply not buying tickets or turning on the TV. That’s what I have now done. College sports as business does not work for me.
If you’re looking for a scandal-free educational institution to cheer, you might consider Sesame Street.
Good piece, Art. It is crazy how screwed up the whole system is, and unfortunate that those kids are placed in the position of trying to comprehend all that is going on. Especially since I am never sure they are given the whole picture, and certainly all the details are explained from a rational point of view.
I really enjoy reading your stuff, keep it up.
From a former neighbor in Leschi.
MC
Good to hear from you, Mark. No one in big-time college sports knows the whole picture, because it changes almost daily. Pity the NCAA didn’t join in 1986 the International Olympic Committee in abandoning amateurism. By now, we’d have a fully functional, well-funded minor league of the NFL.
The question that begs to be asked is…Did the UW eventually find some extra bucks under the sofa cushions? There is a mountain range that separates what was purported to be around $4.5 million+/- agreement with the UW and the alleged $6.0 million being suggested by all these other ‘predatory’ programs. Just who do you trust going forward?
Lastly, this is just another clear reason why these institutions need to call these ‘student athletes’ employees of their institutions and agree to collective bargaining.
Just a guess here: Williams buckled because he would get sued out of his junior year, and he’s not ready for the NFL. And you’re right, the only lasting solution will be acceptance of unionization, and a CBA. All these current half-measures are destined to be corrupted the scoundrels.
Buckled? A good guess, but was a sweetener added to aid in the buckle? We’ll likely never know, but as I wrote, there is a heck of gap between $4.5 mil and a purported $6mil. That is a big enough gap to begin to wonder about a lot of things….by Mr. Williams, every other ‘student-athlete’ at the
UW, and any potential high school or portal recruit. I think that is the real story missed in this episode of Husky athletics.
Mr. Thiel
Your three “winds” summed it up and some of us are more interested in what Fox Sports and ESPN have to say. But I have to suggest that the NCAA should have set up better rules on NIL a long time ago and especially disappointed that they did not set up stricter rules (or the appearance of it.) This has led to chaos resulting in the average fan wondering who he or she supports. As suggested by some, we no longer support the Husky logo but rather, the name and number on the back of the uniform.
I’ve also wondered what was wrong with $4,000,000 for a 19 year-old just for 2025-26, and felt that a wise person would have recommended this money be invested as opposed to wondering if some other college would have offered more. (A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.) You end your story very well on Marshawn Lynch’s advice regarding chickens.
See my point above by the missed opportunity in 1986. And when in doubt about a sports controversy, you can’t go wrong in listening to the Beast.
Go Cougs!
Where? To Division II?
Thank you for this honest and illuminating explanation of why anyone who takes a close look at the infinite regression machine that powers professional and college football will pretty quickly discover that it’s just helmets all the way down.
As long as these young men risk their brains and bodies to entertain us, I say the sooner they can get their hands on the cash, the better. And if we assume that they are—quite sensibly—looking uphill for models (coaches, agents, college presidents, NFL owners and other well-paid prevaricators) of how to get ahead in this business, no amount of deal breaking, dodging, diving, money grubbing or stupid mistakes they commit should surprise us.
Thanks, I like “infinite regression machine.” I know a national political movement where it might fit.
Gosh. I wonder why a college education costs so much?
Tariffs on frat-party cocktails.
A collective sigh of relief could be heard from AD offices across the country when Demond turned an about face back to UW. Now if these contracts really mean something, I look forward to them being for at least two years – barring exit to the NFL.
No top-shelf player will do more than a season without a guarantee for injury. And that’s something only a union could establish.
Doing a morning radio show, think it was ’91, the receptionist paged me saying there are two gentlemen here who would like to speak with you. They wore suits and ties and carried briefcases. Introducing themselves as representing the NCAA. I was being interrogated. “Did at any time did you give Billy Joe Hobert” a KXRX letterman’s jacket?”
Sure did, he is on the air with us periodically, makes for fun radio. Not careful about what flies out of his piehole.
“Did at any time you give Billy Joe Hobert music CDs?”
Yes, many.
With a stern look on their faces they shut their briefcases and went down the elevator. At no time did we offer Hobert $4,000,000. Just thinking back to the those halcyon days of yore.