Is Fresno State football star target of tampering? Bulldogs’ NIL deals include protections

Fresno State athletics has some degree of protection against schools poaching players who receive a cut of its revenue sharing pool through Name Image and Likeness licensing agreements. That protection became more relevant to the Bulldogs this week with reports circulating that Ole Miss had impermissible contact and tampered with wideout Josiah Freeman.

In a report by former Fresno Bee columnist John Canzano, Ole Miss coaches or staff were alleged to have contacted Freeman, who was the Bulldogs’ leading receiver last season and on Jan. 4 was granted a sixth-year of eligibility by the NCAA.

Ole Miss and coach Pete Golding also were called out last week by Clemson coach Dabo Swinney for allegedly tampering with a transfer portal player who had signed with the Tigers. The NCAA has acknowledged it is investigating those allegations.

Canzano, who has more than 50,000 subscribers to his substack and takes deep dives into college athletics, reported that the NCAA had contacted the Bulldogs’ athletics department and that Freeman had provided screenshots of the communications with Ole Miss staff to officials.

Fresno State coach Matt Entz declined comment on the allegations.

Freeman would be a prime target for Power Four conference schools.

He is a long and athletic 6-foot-3 with deceptive speed. He caught a team-high 52 passes for 642 yards and six touchdowns last season. That included 14 receptions that went for 15 or more yards and five that went for 20 or more yards. It’s all the more impressive because the Bulldogs’ offense was geared toward the run game and did not have much success pushing the ball downfield in the pass game.

But Freeman had announced his return in social media posts, proclaiming ‘I’m Back,’ in a graphic that included a Valley Co-Op logo. The Valley Co-Op is the fundraising initiative designed to allow coaches to better retain and recruit student-athletes through revenue sharing and to develop the program.

A template of the agreement signed by Fresno State student-athletes, which was obtained by The Fresno Bee through a public records request, is not an employment contract, but a Name Image and Likeness licensing agreement. Under representations, warranties and covenants, the agreement states that when executed and delivered the agreement will constitute a legal, valid and binding obligation.

“The student-athlete further represents, and covenants that (a) student-athlete has not previously made, and after the effective date will not make, any similar commitment (whether through execution of an institutional financial aid agreement or otherwise) to enroll at and/or compete in athletics for another college institution; (b) execution of this agreement will not conflict with any other agreement made by student-athlete or any representative of student-athlete, and (c ) following execution of this agreement, none of student-athlete, student-athlete’s family members, nor any representative acting on behalf of student-athlete will initiate contact with athletic staff members at other collegiate institutions without fully adhering to and complying with NCAA and conference recruiting regulations.”

NCAA bylaws also prohibit coaches or staff from contacting student-athletes who are enrolled at other schools and have not entered the transfer portal.

The agreements do not include a buyout clause, but define NIL and the definition of athletics-based revenue, and include conditions. No later than the first day of classes in the spring semester, for instance, the student-athlete must meet university, conference and NCAA eligibility requirements.

The university does not disclose financial terms of the deals, due to student privacy concerns.

The NCAA is investigating the tampering allegations made by Swinney and Clemson against Ole Miss, which involve transfer linebacker Luke Ferrelli.

Ferrelli, who was credited with 91 tackles last season as a freshman at Cal, announced that he was transferring to Clemson on Jan. 6 and the school confirmed that in a social media post the next day. Ferrelli then re-entered the transfer portal on Jan. 16, the final day it was open, and six days later announced he was headed to Ole Miss.

Swinney ripped into Ole Miss and coach Pete Golding in a press conference last week, calling it a straightforward case of tampering.

“This is a really sad state of affairs,” Swinney said. “We have a broken system, and if there are no consequences for tampering, then we have no rules, and we have no governance.”

This story was originally published January 30, 2026 at 5:28 AM with the headline "Is Fresno State football star target of tampering? Bulldogs’ NIL deals include protections."