LAS VEGAS — Leaders from across college sports gathered in Las Vegas early last month to examine the industry’s hottest off-the-field topics. Hosted by the Sports Business Journal, the two-day event began with a panel discussion on NIL (name, image and likeness) and innovative strategies for maximizing the opportunities needed for talent acquisition and retention.
The featured speakers: Washington athletic director Pat Chun and tailback Jonah Coleman. For roughly 15 minutes, they outlined Coleman’s approach to managing his brand, recounted his compelling personal story — he’s the first member of his family to earn a college degree — and discussed Washington’s position in the NIL era.
“We believe we’re well-positioned in this environment,” Chun told an audience of approximately 100. “We are a world-class university in a world-class city that is well known for its innovation. With all the pro sports teams in town, with certain metrics we have the highest brand affinity. We’ll go proactively into Seattle and the Puget Sound and try to find opportunities.”
After exiting the stage, Coleman and Chun chatted privately with attendees. A few minutes later, Chun answered questions about the specifics of Washington’s NIL game.
“It’s going well,” he said in a measured tone, “and we have a long way to go.”
That dual existence became frustratingly clear for the Huskies on Tuesday evening when quarterback Demond Williams Jr. announced his departure just days after signing a revenue-sharing contract with the school.
Initial reports indicated the combination of revenue sharing and NIL deals pushed the total value of Williams’ package to roughly $5 million for the 2026 season, a perfectly reasonable offer by UW that was, alas, not enough.
Additional reports suggested Williams would receive a total package of approximately $7 million from an unnamed suitor. (The school is believed to be LSU.)
The details are sketchy; Williams is not officially in the transfer portal; and the Huskies are considering legal action. But the stunning turn of events mirrored Chun’s assessment: Washington’s NIL game is strong but not elite.
Unless it improves, the Huskies will be at risk of losing their most talented players to schools with the deepest pockets.
“The cost of competition continues to rise,” Chun noted last month.
The broader implications were not top of mind for UW fans in the immediate aftermath of Williams’ announcement, which was egregiously timed: Many of his teammates were attending a memorial service for former UW soccer player Mia Hamant, who passed away in November at age 21 after battling kidney cancer.
For now, it’s all about anger and anxiety on Montlake — about Williams’ reversal, the search for a replacement and the Huskies’ tenuous prospects for next season.
Williams was the present and future of the program, a dynamic run-pass threat who followed coach Jedd Fisch from Arizona two years ago and was expected to lead UW’s ascent in the Big Ten.
Without him, the Huskies have a massive hole at the most important position at the wrong end of the transfer cycle: The vast majority of top-tier quarterbacks are accounted for.
But a calamitous view of Williams’ departure requires deep faith that he would have performed substantially better next season than he did in 2025, with little evidence to support the notion.
Yes, Williams was terrific against mediocre and substandard opponents. But in the games UW needed to win to make the desired jump to contender status in the Big Ten, he struggled.
Against the four stingiest defenses in the conference (Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan and Wisconsin), Williams threw three touchdowns and six interceptions, and the Huskies scored a whopping 37 points.
His passer rating against ranked opponents (110.1) was merely No. 63 nationally, according to SportSource Analytics.
His passing yards against teams with a winning record (217.3 per game) was 51st.
Williams was nowhere near the quarterback Washington needs to contend in the Big Ten.
Could he have gotten there with another year in Seattle? Perhaps.
Could his successor perform with more consistency than Williams displayed in 2025 and potentially match what Williams would offer next season? Absolutely.
Most of the highest-profile quarterbacks are unavailable, but that doesn’t preclude the Huskies from landing a difference maker.
The current landscape is proof:
— Mississippi’s Trinidad Chambliss, who slayed Georgia last week in the CFP quarterfinals, played for Division II Ferris State in the 2024 season.
— Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, who won the Heisman Trophy, was a two-star recruit in high school before signing with Cal.
— Diego Pavia, who led Vanderbilt to 10 wins and finished second in the Heisman voting, was a zero-star prospect whose college career began at New Mexico Military Institute.
— Sam Leavitt, perhaps the No. 1 quarterback in the portal, grew up in the Portland suburbs but didn’t have scholarship offers from Oregon or Oregon State.
There are quarterbacks available who can help the Huskies win next year — and win at a high level — but only if Fisch and his staff make sound evaluations.
And if the offensive line improves.
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Through two seasons in the Big Ten, the play of UW’s line has been merely mediocre relative to the best teams in the conference — good enough to overpower Rutgers and Maryland and Minnesota but not up to the task against Ohio State and Oregon and Michigan.
There’s reason to believe the unit will improve next season with returnee John Mills, talented underclassman Champ Taulealea and five-star recruit Kodi Greene, who is expected to play immediately.
Of course, the quality of play at the line of scrimmage hinges on the same resource that tipped Williams’ decision to flee: cash.
Cash to acquire talent.
Cash to retain talent.
Cash for revenue sharing.
Cash for NIL.
Williams’ departure doesn’t doom the Huskies in 2026 because there was no guarantee they would have reached the mountaintop with him as QB1. But it’s a reminder — a warning flare, in fact.
“We are laser-focused on endorsement opportunities for our athletes,” Chun said. “We have the infrastructure in place. Now, how do we maximize the marketplace? We have to keep growing.”
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