Zion Williamson has reportedly filed a lawsuit against a Florida marketing company, Prime Sports, to enforce his termination of an agreement he signed shortly after declaring for the NBA Draft.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, the agreement, which was signed on April 20, included a clause that it could not be terminated for five years. However, a little over one month later, Williamson and his family informed Prime Sports that they were ending the agreement, and have since signed on with CAA Sports.
The agency has threatened to sue for damages in excess of $100 million, but Williamson's attorney maintains that the deal was unlawful under North Carolina law, according to ESPN.
According to the suit, the agreement was unlawful under North Carolina's Uniform Athlete Agents Act because Prime Sports is not certified by the National Basketball Players Association or a registered athlete agent in North Carolina or Florida. Furthermore, the agreement failed to contain "a conspicuous notice in boldface type in capital letters informing the athlete that by signing the agreement he was losing his eligibility to compete as a student-athlete," which is a requirement under the UAAA.
Jeffrey S. Klein, an attorney for Williamson, tells ESPN:
"Prime Sports Marketing's actions towards Mr. Williamson blatantly violated the North Carolina statute specifically designed to protect student athletes. Mr. Williamson properly exercised his rights under the law to void his business dealings with Prime Sports Marketing. Prime Sports Marketing's continued threats against Mr. Williamson made necessary the filing of this lawsuit."
Williamson's suit asks the court to declare the agreement void and bar Prime Sports from acting on Williamson's behalf.