-
Myron Medcalf, ESPN Staff Writer
John Ruiz, once dubbed “Miami’s NIL king” by ESPN, is struggling to keep his castle intact.
Miami’s mega-booster, who has spent millions on NIL deals for Hurricanes athletes in recent years, told investors this week that there is “substantial doubt” that his company, LifeWallet, will stay in business, according to an SEC filing.
In the SEC filing, Ruiz said that LifeWallet, a large-scale medical claims company, had made $7.7 million in revenue last year and suffered a net loss of $211 million. It’s unclear whether the company’s financial troubles will impact its NIL deals with current athletes.
“The Company has concluded that, despite the aforementioned financing arrangements, 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 offering of debt or equity securities, we have concluded it is probable we will be unable to continue to operate as a going concern beyond the next twelve months.”
Ruiz, an attorney, is the leader behind the push for a new Miami football stadium, to which he has committed millions of dollars.
When NIL rules were passed in 2021, Ruiz quickly emerged as one of the faces of the new era. In the first year of name, image and likeness allowances, he reportedly spent more than $10 million on athletes.
Before the 2022-23 season, Ruiz helped reshape Miami men’s and women’s basketball. He played a role in luring Haley and Hanna Cavinder — two of the most popular athletes in the NIL era — from Fresno State to Miami with significant deals. He also publicly announced a two-year, $800,000 NIL deal (including a new car) for former Kansas State point guard Nijel Pack to join the Hurricanes.
When Isaiah Wong, the ACC Player of the Year in 2023, reportedly threatened to leave Miami unless he received more NIL money, Ruiz made it happen and persuaded 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 Final Four run. After the Hurricanes’ win over Texas in the Elite Eight that year, Miami men’s coach Jim Larranaga hugged Ruiz on the court.
Ruiz told ESPN at the time that he had discovered a blueprint for other schools to follow in the NIL era.
“If you do it the right way, yes,” he said then.
But the NCAA and federal investigators have questioned whether Ruiz has done everything the right way.
In 2023, the NCAA issued sanctions against Miami — its first related to NIL — for women’s coach Katie Meier’s role in urging a meeting between Ruiz and the Cavinder twins. The SEC and the Department of Justice are investigating LifeWallet’s operations.