© Saul Young/News Sentinel, Knoxville News Sentinel via Imagn Content Services, LLC
Jeremy Pruitt coached the Tennessee football team for three seasons, posting a 16-19 overall record. He was paid handsomely for his services, making an annual salary of around $4 million per year.
Jeremy was fired amid controversy in January of 2021. Recruiting violations were the cause.
Pruitt and his staff were involved in a pay-for-play scandal that saw coaches hand out cash to players in fast food restaurant bags. After a weekslong investigation, he was relieved of his duties.
In total, 200 infractions were discovered. Pruitt was dealt a six-year show cause. He was essentially blackballed from college football.
After his firing, he reportedly began working as a PE teacher at a high school in Dekalb, Alabama. The demotion likely came with a notable decrease in salary. Now, he’s looking to get that money back.
Jeremy Pruitt is suing the NCAA.
He’d previously threatened to sue his former employer over buyout money. Now, he’s setting his sights at the NCAA.
Former Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt has sued the NCAA in DeKalb County, Alabama, claiming that the association “conspired with Tennessee” to make him the “sacrificial lamb” for rules violations resulting in his firing and a 6-year showcause.
He’s claiming $100M in lost wages. pic.twitter.com/H0b69vvAK5
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) March 27, 2025
Pruitt claims to have been made a scapegoat, saying the NCAA conspired against him alongside his former employer in the investigation. He wants $100 million in return.
In his complaint, he aired Tennessee’s secrets by stating that player payment had been going on prior to his tenure. He went further to say that he informed then-athletic director Philip Fulmer of the wrongdoing, only for Fulmer to say, “He would handle it.”
Making the situation all the more ironic is the fact that NIL was approved soon after Pruitt’s firing. Player payment was made legal across college athletics.
“Jeremy Pruitt may be the last coach in America to be punished for impermissible player benefits,” the suit reads. He claims the NCAA used rules against him that had been “essentially abolished in 2021 by the US Supreme Court ruling.”
Pruitt is out for revenge against the NCAA and his former employer. He wants restitution, and he’s leaving nothing off the table in his fight for repayment.