As the NIL era continues to blur longstanding differences in college sports, the industry’s latest legal battle over money isn’t about an athlete, a school, a conference or a governing body. Instead, online personality and NIL agent Noah Reisenfeld is taking on Young Money APAA Sports, the agency co-founded by rapper Lil Wayne that represents NFL’s Travis Hunter and formerly represented college quarterback Darian Mensah.
The lawsuit — pending elsewhere but Florida — reflects many of the legal and commercial oddities that have characterized intercollegiate athletics. In addition to the complaints surrounding cannabis and dog hygiene, this dispute may paradoxically come down to the industry’s biggest question: When does a worker truly function as an “employee”?
Reisenfeld, in a complaint filed last week in Broward County, Florida, district court, is seeking to invalidate a provision in his independent contractor agreement that requires him to pay Young Money APAA $2.5 million to terminate the relationship before its scheduled expiration. He argues that the damages clause is completely disproportionate and exceeds by more than ten times the revenue that the agency could reasonably have earned from its services. He is asking a judge to declare this clause and the non-compete clause unenforceable, while also seeking damages in excess of $100,000.
Young Money APAA argues in an answer and counterclaim filed Monday that Reisenfeld breached the contract first, thereby barring his legal challenge, and that the $2.5 million termination clause should be upheld.
The dispute represents the latest controversy involving Reisenfeld, a former college baseball player who drew major backlash last year when he defended the practice of agencies charging college athletes 20% commission in a YouTube interview. Critics on social media condemned Reisenfeld’s comments as normalizing predatory business practices.
Now Reisenfeld claims he is the one being exploited by an agency.
Although he was officially classified as an independent contractor, he claims Young Money APAA publicly promoted him and treated him internally like an employee. Among other things, he claims that the agency’s co-founder, Adie von Gontard, instructed him to accompany Heisman Trophy-winning Hunter to a hotel during the NFL Combine; Fly to Kansas City to spend time at former SMU and current Chiefs running back Brashard Smith’s training camp. traveling to Boston to accompany a client receiving ketamine therapy; and serves as the agency’s liaison to the Atlanta Falcons.
Notably, Reisenfeld is not asking the court to declare him an employee under federal or state law. Rather, he argues that Young Money APAA exercised a level of control inconsistent with the terms of the independent contractor agreement, rendering key provisions – including liquidated damages – unenforceable.
He also claims the agency directed him to recruit and provide representation services to NFL players even though he was not certified by the NFL Players Association. Young Money APAA has denied these allegations.
Describing himself as a “pioneer and industry leader in college football and basketball representation,” Reisenfeld says in the lawsuit that his professional relationship with Young Money APAA began with a referral agreement signed on April 12, 2023, under which he received commissions for successfully referring athletes to the agency. The parties later entered into an independent contractor agreement effective July 1, 2024, which expanded his responsibilities to include athlete recruiting and securing and negotiating NIL opportunities for the agency’s existing clients.
The agreement, which is attached to the complaint, provided Reisenfeld with a fixed monthly salary of at least $14,500, rising to $17,500 over time if he met certain benchmarks. It also entitled him to earn a $30,000 bonus for every $1 million in commissions he generated for the company beyond the first $1 million.
One of Reisenfeld’s biggest recruiting successes came just two months later, when he signed Mensah, then Tulane’s quarterback, who later played at Duke before transferring to Miami. Darren Heitner, who represented Mensah – via Young Money APAA – during the transfer process, is now defending the agency against Reisenfeld. Heitner declined to comment.
Each side accuses the other of breach of contract. Reisenfeld alleges that Young Money did this by refusing to pay for state NIL licenses and failing to reimburse more than $50,000 in business expenses he incurred on behalf of the agency.
Young Money APAA, meanwhile, claims that Reisenfeld spent significant time in 2025 and 2026 directing agency clients to a rival company, Visionary Capital. The countersuit also alleges that Reisenfeld violated the terms of a sublease agreement for a Florida home that the parties jointly signed earlier this year by smoking marijuana in the home and keeping an unlicensed dog on the premises without cleaning up its feces.
“We will not discuss this matter in the press, but I want to say that the allegations are without merit and we will clarify everything in the documents filed with the court,” Reisenfeld’s lawyer Richard Busch said in a statement.
(This story has been updated in the first paragraph to clarify that Reisenfeld no longer represents Mensah.)
https://www.sportico.com/leagues/college-sports/2026/young-money-apaa-noah-reisenfeld-lawsuit-1234938225/
