John Ruiz: The Billionaire Booster Behind Miami’s NIL Revolution

John Ruiz is a Miami alum, a lawyer, and a billionaire who has made headlines for his involvement in the name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals of several Miami athletes. He is the founder and CEO of MSP Recovery, an insurance recovery firm that is set to go public in a $33 billion deal. He is also the owner of Cigarette Racing Team, a manufacturer of high-performance boats. He has been described as a visionary, a philanthropist, and a controversial figure in the world of college sports.

From Personal Injury to Class Action

Ruiz started his legal career as a personal injury lawyer, appearing on Spanish-language TV commercials to attract clients. He soon moved to class action lawsuits, taking on major pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer, Merck, and GlaxoSmithKline. He won several multimillion-dollar settlements and verdicts for his clients, earning him a reputation as a fierce litigator and negotiator.

Ruiz also became involved in mass tort litigation, representing thousands of plaintiffs who suffered from defective medical devices, such as hip implants and hernia mesh. He was one of the lead attorneys in the multidistrict litigation (MDL) against Johnson & Johnson over its pelvic mesh products, which resulted in a $117 million settlement.

From Class Action to Insurance Recovery

Ruiz’s latest venture is MSP Recovery, a company that combines software engineers and lawyers to identify and recover incorrect insurance payments from primary payers. MSP stands for Medicare Secondary Payer, a federal law that requires primary payers, such as auto insurers or workers’ compensation carriers, to reimburse Medicare for any medical expenses that they should have covered.

Ruiz claims that he discovered a flaw in the system that allows him to access billions of dollars in unclaimed reimbursements from primary payers. He developed a proprietary algorithm that analyzes millions of claims data from Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers to find instances where primary payers failed to pay their share. He then files lawsuits on behalf of secondary payers, such as Medicare Advantage plans or health care providers, to recover the money.

Ruiz says that his company has recovered over $700 million for its clients so far, and has filed over 400 lawsuits across the country. He estimates that there are over $1 trillion in potential recoveries waiting to be claimed.

From Insurance Recovery to Public Company

Ruiz is taking his company public through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), which is a shell company that merges with a private company to list it on the stock market. Ruiz’s SPAC is called Lionheart Acquisition Corporation II, and it announced in July 2021 that it had agreed to merge with MSP Recovery in a deal that valued the latter at $32.6 billion.

The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021, and will make Ruiz one of the richest people in the world. Ruiz says that he plans to use the proceeds from the deal to invest in other businesses, such as Cigarette Racing Team, which he bought in August 2021 for an undisclosed amount. He also appointed his son, John H. Ruiz II, as the CEO of the boat company.

From Public Company to NIL Booster

Ruiz is also making waves in the world of college sports, as he has become one of the most influential NIL boosters in the country. NIL refers to the new rules that allow college athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness by endorsing products or services, signing autographs, or creating content.

Ruiz has been a longtime supporter of Miami athletics, donating millions of dollars to the university over the years. He has also been vocal about his desire to see Miami return to its glory days as a football powerhouse. He has said that he is willing to fund a new football stadium for Miami on the site of Coral Gables Senior High School, which is near the university’s campus.

Ruiz has also been instrumental in securing NIL deals for several Miami athletes, especially basketball players. He has partnered with Dreamfield Co., an NIL platform co-founded by former UCF quarterback McKenzie Milton, to offer lucrative contracts to players who join his team at MSP Recovery.

Some of the players who have signed NIL deals with Ruiz include:

Nijel Pack: A transfer from Kansas State who averaged 12.7 points and 3.7 assists per game as a freshman. He signed a four-year deal with Ruiz worth $2 million.
Norvchad Omier: A transfer from Arkansas State who averaged 12.6 points and 12.5 rebounds per game as a freshman. He signed a four-year deal with Ruiz worth $2 million.
Isaiah Wong: A returning star who averaged 17.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore. He signed a four-year deal with Ruiz worth $2 million.

Ruiz says that he is not paying the players to play for Miami, but rather to work for his company as brand ambassadors, consultants, and interns. He says that he is offering them an opportunity to learn from his business and to secure their financial future. He also says that he is doing this to help Miami compete with other schools that have bigger budgets and fan bases.

However, not everyone is happy with Ruiz’s involvement in NIL. Some critics have accused him of buying players and creating an unfair advantage for Miami. Some have also questioned the legality and ethics of his business model and his lawsuits. Ruiz has dismissed these criticisms as jealousy and ignorance, and has challenged anyone to prove him wrong.