Tyreek Smith is expected to play an important role for the Memphis Tigers during the 2024-25 college basketball season. However, he almost left the team because he was not getting paid the NIL money he was promised by the Bluff City Collective.
His holdout came to an end after just one day because the check finally cashed.
Smith is at his fourth school in five years. The former three-star recruit began his career at Texas Tech, spent two years at Oklahoma State and played last season at SMU. This will be his final year of eligibility.
Reports started to swirl about Smith’s future at Memphis on Sunday evening. A lack of starting role and a lack of financial compensation supposedly led him to leave the program.
That was not entirely true.
Smith’s agent, the Head of Young Money APAA Sports, made it abundantly clear that his client was not going to leave because he is not in the starting lineup. The Louisiana-native is not scared of competition.
With that being said, he was toying with the idea of a departure from the program if he did not get paid. His agent made it clear that Smith is not going to work for free. There is a formal contract involved and the Bluff City Collective did not follow through on its obligations.
Smith held out of practice on Monday morning while things were getting sorted out behind the scenes. It was a formal Name, Image and Likeness holdout. No pay, no play.
The direct deposit must’ve hit on Monday night because he returned to practice on Tuesday morning!
Tyreek Smith is not leaving the Memphis Tigers basketball program. Penny Hardaway was not involved in the initial conversations about NIL, but he got on the necessary parties and made sure he got his 6-foot-8 forward back on the court with less than two weeks until the start of the season!