Washington coach Jedd Fisch revealed on Friday that star quarterback Demond Williams nearly left the Huskies after another program allegedly offered him an additional $2 million to enter the portal.
Rather than matching the reported offer, Washington spent its time convincing Williams to stay by emphasizing the value of honoring his contract and continuing to develop within the same program. According to Fisch on “The Triple Option” podcast, the Huskies did not increase Williams’ NIL compensation, and the quarterback ultimately decided to remain in Seattle.
The revelation spread across social media after On3 shared it on X.
One fan immediately questioned the situation, writing, “Sounds like tampering to me.”
Another user wrote, “A program’ like we don’t know who it is lol.”
“How bout we start calling these programs out and they start getting in trouble for this,” one wrote.
“2 Million for a 19 year old Kid nice going Miami lmaooooo,” another user wrote.
Not everyone criticized the situation; some defended Williams for considering such a lucrative opportunity.
“When you’re not going to play in the NFL can I blame anyone for capitalizing on their value while they can?”
Another fan echoed that sentiment, “At least he understands chasing the bag 🤷.”
Jedd Fisch Explains Why Demond Williams Stayed at Washington
On “The Triple Option” podcast, Fisch said that the situation unfolded just after Williams had signed a new contract with Washington.
“Demond signed his contract to be a part of our program for another year, and everything was great,” Fisch said. “Then, we all came back for our first team meeting, and then when the team meeting ended, he called me, and he said, ‘Coach, I think I need to go. I need to go to the portal.’”
Fisch said he was caught completely off guard before learning the reason behind the sudden change.
“What happened was, a program told him they’ll pay him an extra $2 million if he goes in the portal, and the kid’s 19 years old,” he said.
Despite the reported $2 million incentive, Fisch said Washington’s pitch centered on stability rather than money.
“We spent about 24-36 hours going back and forth and talking about, ‘This is the right place for you, and you have a contract, and contracts mean something,’” he said. “In the end, he came back two days later. We didn’t change anything; we didn’t give him any more money or anything like that, but what we did do is we talked about what a great opportunity it is to be a three-year player in the same program, and we have a chance to do something super special.”
Williams now enters the 2026 season as Washington’s starting quarterback, and expectations are high for the team as it looks to contend for a College Football Playoff berth.
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