Wholesale Contract - Is this legal?

[Thomas Moran]

Hi BP -

May or may not be in a debacle here so I wanted to consult the community. I am under contract via an assigned contract through a wholesaler. I just figured out the obscene margin that he is making (which doesn't necessarily bother me), and it begs the question why is the seller taking such a hit on equity? Is there something about the house I don't know?

I am going to sleep on it, but I am thinking about exiting the deal. He made me sign a contract that effictively states, "forfiting of earnest money does not release you from the contract, and you can still be forced to close". Now is this legal? I've never heard of anything like this before, and I've never done wholesaling. I had no intention on bailing on the deal, but it's very anxiety provoking to be trapped. 

Thanks in advance. -Tom