Ole Miss buyout fight with Princewill Umanmielen reaches new stage before LSU game
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LSU defensive end Princewill Umanmielen was served Tuesday in the breach-of-contract lawsuit Ole Miss filed against him, four days before the Tigers play in Oxford.
In a timeline released in July, Ole Miss says Umanmielen signed a revenue-sharing agreement to return on Jan. 3 and entered the transfer portal 17 days later, on Jan. 20, before signing with LSU the next day.
That agreement carried a penalty for leaving within 90 days. The suit, filed July 27 in Lafayette County Circuit Court, seeks $550,000 from him plus attorneys’ fees and court costs, along with all “actual, consequential, and allowable damages.” Ole Miss wants $400,000 from offensive lineman Devin Harper, who played in six games as a true freshman last season and made the same move from Oxford to Baton Rouge in January. Judge Kelly Luther is presiding over Umanmielen’s case, and Judge Kent E. Smith has Harper’s.
(Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images)
Both followed Lane Kiffin, who left Ole Miss for LSU before the Rebels’ College Football Playoff run and landed four former Rebels in his first portal class there.
The school says it asked Umanmielen for payment on Jan. 22 and heard nothing back within the 30-day deadline. It also says LSU refused on March 18 to pay on the players’ behalf because LSU was not a party to the contracts.
NEW: LSU EDGE Princewill Umanmielen was served court papers on Tuesday related to his Ole Miss lawsuit, ESPN reports.
Umanmielen was served with court papers in the parking lot outside of LSU’s football facility.https://t.co/CVMfMBOkBihttps://t.co/aMpz6hC9gDpic.twitter.com/2Bokpr0lqg
— On3 (@On3) September 16, 2026
Where Umanmielen was served, and who knew it was coming
Umanmielen was reportedly handed the documents in the parking lot outside LSU’s football facility. LSU officials knew ahead of time that Ole Miss was trying to serve both players this week. Cal Mayo, the attorney representing Ole Miss, had not yet been told that his side had already served Umanmielen, and Harper is expected to be served soon.
“Before transferring to another institution, student-athletes Devin Harper and Princewill Umanmielen signed revenue sharing agreements that included a provision requiring them to compensate the university with a predetermined amount if they departed before fulfilling their commitment,” the university said in its statement when the suits were filed. “The University of Mississippi has a responsibility to enforce its contractual terms, and this position is consistent with the actions of other institutions in the current landscape of college athletics.”
Legal experts interviewed in August expected the dispute to end in a settlement, and said a trial, if it came to that, likely would not start until after the season. They also said a ruling on the enforceability of the buyouts would be significant whichever side won.
Umanmielen, a Nebraska transfer who led Ole Miss with nine sacks in his lone season there, is listed on LSU’s defensive line for Saturday’s game, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
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