Lions receiver Jameson Williams played most of his college career before the NIL era began. He’s now looking to get compensated for the money the system prevented him from earning — and for the money the system earned from his skills and abilities.
Via the New York Post, Williams has sued the NCAA, the Big Ten, and the SEC for misappropriating his name, image, and likeness rights.
As framed in the civil complaint filed in Los Angeles County, California, on Monday, the alleged violations are ongoing.
“To date, Williams has received no fair compensation from Defendants for the full commercial value of his name, image, and likeness,” Williams contends in the lawsuit. "[Defendants] continuously financially benefit from Jameson Williams’ name, image and likeness rights, [while] also doing so without [providing] him with just compensation.”
Williams, the 12th overall pick in the 2022 draft, seeks compensation for “the social media earnings that [he] would have received but for Defendants’ unlawful conduct,” along with a portion of “the game telecast group licensing revenue” the defendants earned during his playing career.
Williams also contends that, during his college career, “he was not able to sell his name, image, and likeness rights.”
To the extent that the antitrust laws opened the floodgates for players to get paid, those who were denied the ability to do so because of past antitrust violations have potential rights that can be pursued in court.
Lions Clips
The Lions will exercise the fifth-year option on running back Jahmyr Gibbs’ contract as expected, Dan Miller of Fox2 Sports reports.
The move was expected and fully guarantees Gibbs $14.293 million for 2027.
The Lions, though, will decline the fifth-year option on linebacker Jack Campbell’s contract, per Miller. It would have fully guaranteed Campbell $21.925 million.
The team wants to sign both players to long-term extensions and consider Campbell a big part of their future.
Campbell made first-team All-Pro and the Pro Bowl after last season when he recorded 176 tackles, nine tackles for loss, five sacks, four passes defensed and three forced fumbles.
Gibbs became a full-time starter in 2025, and the Lions traded David Montgomery in the offseason. Gibbs rushed 243 times for 1,223 yards with 13 touchdowns in 2025. He also caught 77 passes for 616 yards with five touchdowns.
He previously led the league with 20 rushing and receiving touchdowns in 2024.
Veteran receiver Scotty Miller is getting a look at a couple of NFC North teams.
Miller is taking a free-agent visit with the Lions on Tuesday and is set to try out for the Bears next week, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Miller, 28, was with the Steelers for the last two years. In 2025, he caught nine passes for 62 yards while playing 20 percent of the offensive snaps in his 13 games played.
Miller’s most productive season came in 2020 when he caught 33 passes for 501 yards with three TDs for the Buccaneers.
He’s appeared in 93 career games with nine starts since Tampa Bay selected him in the sixth round of the 2019 draft. He’s caught 99 passes for 1,216 yards with six TDs.
When they’re both healthy, the Lions have a great safety tandem in Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch. Unfortunately, last year Joseph missed most of the season with a knee injury, while Branch suffered a torn Achilles tendon late in the season.
The good news is, Lions General Manager Brad Holmes is optimistic that they’ll both be good to go this season.
“I think they’re both heading in the right direction,” Holmes said.
The Lions did not draft a safety, but Holmes said that had more to do with the team’s draft board than a statement about Joseph and Branch.
“It wasn’t that we intentionally didn’t draft a safety because we feel good about them,” Holmes said. “I feel like they’re both trending in the right direction, but it just didn’t line up. Just like it hasn’t lined up at other positions in the past. We didn’t ignore it. There were some good ones that were out there that just got picked before we were able to, but it just didn’t quite line up. I didn’t really think that class was as deep either, so it had to line up and you had to strike right.”
The Lions’ defense has been ravaged by injuries two years in a row. This year they feel good about their key players starting the season healthy. And, they hope, ending the season healthy.
The Lions took a step backward in 2025, and as they build their roster for 2026, they’re getting back to grit.
That’s the word from Lions General Manager Brad Holmes, who said finding tough, competitive, physical players was the priority in the draft.
“You’re just looking for very gritty football players,” Holmes said. “You have to have a level of grit to you and that was a huge emphasis for both free agency and the draft process.”
Asked another question about what he looked for in this year’s draft, Holmes returned to the theme of grit, which has been a point of emphasis for himself and Lions head coach Dan Campbell.
“Just finding gritty football players,” Holmes said. “I’m not saying we forgot about our identity, but just making sure that was at the top of mind. That’s why every single player we took, when we’re writing notes we write, ‘This guy’s a football player.’ . . . I’ve said that about every one of our guys. Me and Dan are seeing it the same way, they’re football players that fit us.”
Quarterback Luke Altmyer didn’t get drafted this weekend, but he has found a spot in the NFL.
According to multiple reports, Altmyer has agreed to terms with the Lions.
Altmyer spent two seasons at Ole Miss before transferring to Illinois. He was a three-year starter at Illinois and wrapped up his college career as the school’s all-time completion percentage leader. He completed 67.4 percent of his passes for 3,007 yards, 22 touchdowns and five interceptions during the 2025 season.
Jared Goff remains the starter in Detroit and the Lions brought Teddy Bridgewater back in free agency to serve as their No. 2 quarterback.
The Lions have moved up six positions in the second round to select a player who might be familiar to plenty of their fans.
With the No. 44 overall pick, Detroit has selected Michigan defensive end Derrick Moore.
Moore played 53 games for the Wolverines with 24 starts over the last two seasons. He was a first-team All-Big Ten honoree in 2025, finishing the season with 30 total tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, two forced fumbles, and three passes defended.
He tallied 24.5 tackles for loss and 21 sacks in his collegiate career.
Now he will be able to play opposite fellow Wolverine, Aidan Hutchinson, at the highest level.
Detroit sent No. 50 and No. 128 to the Jets in exchange for the No. 44 overall pick.
When Lions General Manager Brad Holmes made the call to draft Clemson offensive tackle Blake Miller during the first round, it was the culmination of a years-long process of scouting him.
Holmes said after the first round that the Lions have been eyeing Miller for years, saw continued growth in him during his college career and think he’ll keep getting better as a pro.
“He probably has no idea, but we’ve been watching Blake for about three years now and he has gotten better every single year, and that’s what makes you really excited about a player like that who has a high floor but has gotten better every year,” Holmes said. “Coming to this level with our offensive line coach and our ecosystem, I don’t see any reason he won’t continue to get better.”
Miller was a starter at Clemson from 2022 to 2025 and Holmes said that a couple years ago, while watching Miller’s sophomore season, he knew the Lions were going to want him.
“In ’24, watching his ’23 tape,” Holmes said. “The first thing I saw was his urgency and athleticism, that was the first thing that caught my eye. . . . I just wrote down, ‘This kid’s a football player’ and I was definitely hot on the guy.”
Holmes said he would have been willing to trade up to get Miller, but when the Rams took quarterback Ty Simpson 13th overall, Holmes said he thought the first round was playing out in a way that Miller would be there for the Lions at No. 17.
“We definitely explored strongly about trading up, and seeing how it started to fall, probably after L.A. took the quarterback, I felt pretty good that we might be able to just get Blake,” Holmes said. “Right about 14, I felt pretty good that we would be able to keep our assets and still get Blake.”
The first round worked out for the Lions, and if all goes according to plan, Miller will be their starting right tackle in Week One.
The Lions parted ways with longtime starting left tackle Taylor Decker and they moved to refresh their offensive line with the 17th overall pick on Thursday night.
They selected former Clemson tackle Blake Miller with that pick. Miller is the fifth offensive lineman to come off the board so far.
Miller was a four-year starter at right tackle while in school and will likely remain on that side with Penei Sewell flipping to the left to replace Decker. The Lions signed Larry Borom as a free agent, so he may not be jumping right into the first team but the coming weeks will bring a better idea about where Miller will begin his NFL career.
The Lions’ next pick is No. 50 and they have eight more picks in total.
After the Chiefs drafted running back Isiah Pacheco in 2022, they won two straight Super Bowls, and made it to a third. Pacheco wants a lot more than that.
Pacheco said in a video published by the Lions that he signed with Detroit thinking it’s a place where he can get to a Super Bowl again.
“I went to three Super Bowls but I’m unsatisfied,” Pacheco said. “I’m hungry and I’m dying to get back in that environment, especially with this crew here that’s never done it. I want to set history. We’re going to challenge each other, we’re going to compete. Every day we’re going to get better.”
Pacheco signed a relatively low-paying one-year, $1.81 million contract to back up Jahmyr Gibbs in Detroit. If Pacheco can be a significant contributor on a Super Bowl team, he can make himself a lot of money next year.
