Over the past 24 hours, the drama unfolding on Montlake has sent shockwaves through the college sports world.

To recap, UW Huskies star sophomore quarterback Demond Williams Jr. announced on social media Tuesday evening that he’s entering the NCAA’s transfer portal, despite reportedly signing a contract just four days earlier to return to UW for the 2026 season.

Klatt: UW’s Demond Williams situation ‘everything that’s wrong’ in CFB

According to a report from Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger, UW officials suspect that another school contacted Williams after he signed a “legally binding revenue-share contract” with UW. That contract, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel, was in the mid-$4 million range and put Williams near the top the market for college football.

The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman reported that UW is “prepared to pursue legal action to enforce the terms of the contract” and that this dispute “could lead to a messy debate over the circumstances surrounding Williams’ status.”

On Wednesday morning, Feldman joined Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy to discuss the situation.

“Legally, it’s gonna get super messy, because these contracts are different than they are in pro sports,” Feldman said. “They’re NIL agreements. They don’t count you as an employee, so it’s a different kind of deal. It’s gonna be fascinating to see how this thing unfolds from here.

“It’s just the wild, wild West, and this is the latest example of it,” he added.

Ultimately, Feldman thinks UW will end up seeking monetary damages for a breach of contract.

“I would imagine, and just from hearing what the language of the contract is, that they will seek punitive damages,” Feldman said. “And I imagine that’s going to come from whoever’s going to pay him.

“I imagine if he was expected to get in the $4-4.5 million range as part of a new deal with Washington, I imagine somebody’s going to probably end up having to do a deal to pay him north of $6 million, and maybe more than that, to pay to get him.

“That’s all speculation, but I don’t see this being a clean break,” he added. “It’s already gotten super messy.”

UW’s ‘scramble’ for a new QB

Meanwhile, how does this impact UW’s quarterback situation for 2026?

The NCAA’s Jan. 2-16 transfer portal has already been open for days, so most of the top transfer quarterbacks have already landed with their new schools. That puts UW in a major time crunch to find a potential replacement for Williams.

Reports did surface Wednesday afternoon that Missouri transfer Beau Pribula is set to visit with UW. Pribula is ranked by ESPN as the 18th-best QB in the portal.

Report: Transfer QB visiting UW Huskies amid Demond Williams drama

“The portal opened up five days ago, but it was really in motion weeks before that,” Feldman said prior to news of Pribula’s visit. “I mean, if you weren’t already trying to get players lined up – not just evaluated, but to come on visits or have those discussions – you’re probably too late to the dance.

“This is a game of musical chairs, and I feel like because Washington thought they had a signed contract with a starting quarterback, they’re not even inside the room where the music’s being played. They’re just driving up to the dance at this point.

“It doesn’t mean that they can’t try to swoop in on somebody else and try to throw a lot more money at somebody to get in at the last second. … But it’s a scramble right now.”

Listen to the full conversation with The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman at this link or in the audio player near the middle of this story. Tune into Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.

UW Huskies star QB Demond Williams to enter transfer portal