Canzano: Damien Martinez drama is a 'dam' shame

Oregon State running back sets the record straight.

Damien Martinez is in the transfer portal and at the center of a drama. (Photo: Naji Saker)

Damien Martinez celebrated his 20th birthday at the end of January by posting photographs of a new car he bought himself.

Oregon State’s star running back parked the Dodge Charger Scat Pack on a gravel road in Corvallis, then climbed onto the hood, stood up, folded his arms, and posed for a picture.

Now, that vehicle — and its driver — plan to drive off to some other university.

Martinez’s departure is the latest gut punch for OSU. It came as a surprise to fans, some teammates, coaches, and the school’s NIL collective. And it raised questions about what went awry. After all, Martinez had publicly vowed his loyalty to Oregon State on several occasions and the school was thrilled to retain a player who rushed for 1,185 yards last season.

Now, Martinez says he’s leaving.

The junior running back announced this week his plan to enter the transfer portal. What has ensued is a public back and forth between Martinez’s camp — including a new Florida-based agent representing him — and Kyle Bjornstad, the head of the Dam Nation Collective. The discourse is inflamed, laced with emotion, and left at least one party mulling litigation.

Martinez told me on Thursday that he was disappointed with how his story is being told and wanted to set the record straight.

Said Martinez: “I had no problem with Kyle or the collective. It was simply a decision I made for myself that I felt was best.”

***

Damien Martinez scored 16 rushing TDs in two seasons at Oregon State. (Photos: Naji Saker)

Martinez began to enjoy the fruits of his college football labor shortly after a terrific freshman season. He rushed for 982 yards. Jonathan Smith’s top running back was provided an NIL deal with Kiefer Nissan, a dealership in Corvallis.

The Beavers beat Florida 30-3 in the Las Vegas Bowl in December of 2022. A few weeks later, Martinez toured the dealership and was provided with a leased vehicle, a hybrid SUV he drove off the lot. A year later, Martinez decided to use his own money to trade up and buy a Dodge Charger.

The color: Octane Red.

“They did not buy me a house or a car,” Martinez told me on Thursday. “I had two cars. The first one I bought and then traded up for my second car. They never gave me anything. The only thing they gave me was the money that I earned… I used that money to get my cars and (rental) house.”

The NIL deals at Oregon State are settled quarterly, not annually, to protect the school from athletes accepting deals and jilting the school by hopping into the transfer portal. Martinez was set to earn $400,000 a year under the agreement he struck after last season. It would be paid in installments of $100,000 per quarter.

Martinez told another media outlet this week that he didn’t receive the full $100,000. There’s a reason for that. But that detail caused a storm of debate and raised questions about the ethics of the school’s NIL collective. It put Martinez under the microscope and insinuated that the Dam Nation Collective didn’t deliver on a promise. That ignited a fire in Bjornstad’s world.

“I don’t want it to get ugly,” Bjornstad told me, “but this is built on Oregon State values — we do right by people.”

Martinez received a $92,000 payment before the close of business on March 19 of this year. And “that’s not a problem,” the running back told me on Thursday.

The shortage comes with a back story. Kiefer Nissan informed OSU’s NIL collective earlier this year that Martinez still owed $8,000 on the down payment of the Charger. Dam Nation Collective agreed to send a check to the dealership in March to cover the balance.

I asked Martinez to confirm that the $8,000 shortage was due to the payment made directly to Kiefer. He said: “Somewhere around there, but that was not a problem at all.”

There are understandable bad feelings from fans who feel disappointed by Martinez’s decision to transfer. After all, Oregon State is desperate to find footing. It’s playing a Mountain West Conference-heavy schedule next season and operating with a first-time, first-year head football coach.

Retaining Martinez was viewed as a nice early victory in Trent Bray’s tenure. OSU’s spring game is April 20. Everything appeared to be OK from a football standpoint until this week when Bray heard rumors about Martinez leaving.

“Trent called him and asked,” said an OSU athletic department source. “There’s an agent involved. People like that are major players and decision-makers in the game. That’s the state of college football.”

***

Damien Martinez has a bright football future. He told me on Thursday that the reason he’s departing has nothing to do with the school’s NIL collective or broken promises.

He said: “I just felt it’s best for my future career and to show I am (the) No. 1 running back for next year’s draft class.”

Could Martinez do that playing the Beavers’ 2024 schedule? One that includes games vs. Boise State, San Diego State, Oregon, Purdue, Washington State, and others? Sure. But that’s not the point of this piece. The objective here is to provide some sunshine on an adult decision that Martinez made. Basically, to wade through a week of fog and find out what really went down.

Did the collective lie or mislead Martinez? Did it really short him $8,000 or was that misrepresented? It matters. Because if Oregon State didn’t deliver on an NIL promise, it stands to lose trust with athletes and should be held accountable. And if it actually did deliver, and suffers damages because of a false narrative, the collective could theoretically litigate.

“I want to be very, very clear,” Bjornstad said, “every single thing that was promised to him was delivered on time.”

Martinez told me: “There was never bad blood with Kyle.”

The whole thing gets me thinking about the involvement of agents and this new-world mindset of college athletes. The combination of the transfer portal and NIL has created a ‘wild west’ atmosphere in college athletics. A band of fresh characters has entered the stage, and they’re now negotiating on behalf of athletes.

Said Bjornstad: “Right now, we have third parties and agents involved. There are some really good ones out there who have kids’ interests at heart and there are instances where people are popping up out of nowhere and see opportunity and it’s not for the betterment of the athlete.”

Shawn O’Gorman is the director of NIL for a company named First Round Management. It was founded in 2008 by Malki Kawa, who has mostly represented mixed martial arts athletes such as Jon Jones and Anthony Pettis.

O’Gorman suited up as a football player in 2019 at Florida International University, where he mostly played special teams. He’s registered as an agent with the NFL Player’s Association and is based in Florida. He now represents Martinez. I reached out to O’Gorman on Thursday, asking for a conversation about what transpired between Martinez and OSU.

O’Gorman declined to comment, but offered: “Damien is focused on the next step in the process and thankful for everything at Oregon State.”

The departure of Martinez leaves a hole in the running back rotation at OSU. The coaching staff will pivot. Teammates will be asked to step up. Ironically, one of those expected to fill Martinez’s shoes is Jam Griffin, who used the transfer portal to bounce from Georgia Tech to Oregon State to Mississippi and is now back in Corvallis for a second football tour.

“We will be fine,” a university staff member said.

Maybe the school’s NIL collective will go shopping in the portal itself. After all, there’s now a spare $100,000 available in the quarterly budget.

---

I appreciate all who support, subscribe, and share this independent writing endeavor. Please consider a subscription or a gift subscription for a family member or friend:

This is an independent reader-supported project with both free and paid subscriptions. Those who opt for the paid edition are providing vital assistance to bolster my independent coverage and have full access to all of my posts.