Attorney Michael Avenatti arrives at United States Court in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., July 23, 2019. (Reuters)

A motion filed in federal court Wednesday on behalf of lawyer Michael Avenatti alleges corruption and the use of under-the-table payouts to elite high school players within Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball (EYBL) division.

In a filing that hints at the allegedly pervasive nature of payments to top prospects to play in Nike’s grassroots system, the document alleges an apparent willingness to pay $35,000 to Zion Williamson and $20,000 to Romeo Langford while they were still in high school. There is no indication either player received the money or was even presented the deals.

Avenatti was charged earlier this year by federal prosecutors in New York with extortion. The feds characterized he tried to “shake down” Nike by revealing allegations of corruption.

Avenatti has pleaded not guilty and promised to vigorously defend himself and expose Nike. The motion to dismiss is a step toward that goal.

Among the assertions:

• “Nike possessed text messages, emails, and other documents from 2016-17 … proving that Nike executives had arranged for and concealed payments often in cash to amateur basketball players and their families and ‘handlers.’”

• Nike EYBL manager Jamal James texted EYBL director Carlton DeBose and Nike recruiting coordinator John Stovall “in February 2017, asking whether they would be ‘willing to do … whatever may be needed for the Zion/Romeo situations as well as the money we’re now going to do for the [redacted due to the player being a minor] kid in Michigan?’”

Stovall, according to the motion, responded:

Langford — 20

Zion — 35 plus

[Minor] — 15

DeBose responded “that he was willing to pay Langford, Zion and [minor] the $70,000 and that they should ‘stay aggressive’ while he got ‘creative’ with the budget,” the motion reads.

Later, “Stovall informed James and DeBose that they still ‘had not presented our new offer’ to Williamson but agreed that it was not a good idea ‘to put it in print.’”

Williamson, who hails from South Carolina, played grassroots ball for teams sponsored by multiple shoe companies and then attended Nike flagship school Duke. He was the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA draft and signed an endorsement deal with Nike. Langford, who hails from Indiana, wound up playing under the Adidas umbrella after that company agreed in winter 2017 to sponsor an AAU program run by his father. He attended Adidas-sponsored Indiana and was the 14th pick in the 2019 NBA draft.

• “DeBose told Nico Harrison, Nike’s vice president of North American Basketball Operations, that he [DeBose] was ‘willing to bet that 38 of 40 teams in the EYBL had to pay a moderate to considerable ransom to families just to play in the EYBL. Of those 38 teams these arrangements are being viewed as a contract by the families and players.”

• DeBose, according to the motion, also “acknowledged in an exchange of text messages with an assistant coach at the University of Kentucky that Nike was funneling payments to high school players through at least ten different EYBL coaches.”

• The motion states: “An EYBL coach expressed concern to Nike executives about the fact that players and family members were getting paid and that he couldn’t ‘see how this ends well for Nike or the EYBL. Some of us will be deemed guilty by association, others will be found guilty of failure to supervise.’ ”

• “Rachel Baker, a Nike executive who led ‘Event Strategy’ for the EYBL, expressed concern to a colleague about carrying large amounts of cash through airport security and indicated that she would lie and ‘just say I just sold my car’ if she got stopped,” according to the motion.

View photos Duke Blue Devils forward Zion Williamson (1) looks on during the first half of an NCAA tournament game. (USAT) More

In many cases, specifics were not included in the motion. It does suggest Avenatti has additional information and documentation detailing Nike’s conduct.

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