Tag: NIL

Julian Lewis signs NIL with Travis Scott and Cactus Jack

Julian Lewis is taking care of business on multiple levels.

Rapper Travis Scott and his company Cactus Jack have signed USC Trojan football commit Julian “JuJu” Lewis to a new NIL deal.

The company has partnered with Fanatics, alongside Mitchell & Ness, and hat retailer Lids, to launch a capsule clothing collection called Jack Goes Back to College.

Lewis is one of the biggest stars in high school on and off the field.

He threw for 3,094 yards with 48 touchdowns in 2023 for Carrrolton High School in Georgia. He was also named National High School Sophomore of the Year by Max Preps and was a finalist for Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2023 as well.

Lewis committed to USC and Lincoln Riley back on August 22 of 2023. He re-classified from the 2026 class to the 2025 class.

He previously signed a six-figure deal with All Yogan Leaf Trading Cards and has an endorsement deal with the men’s jewelry brand Jaxxon. The Travis Scott angle is interesting to consider at USC. Just how much impact will it have beyond Lewis himself?

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Julian Lewis inks an NIL deal with Travis Scott’s Cactus Jack

Julian Lewis signed an NIL deal with Cactus Jack.

One of the nation’s top quarterback prospects has a hot new NIL deal. Julian Lewis, a five-star quarterback and a USC commit, has signed on to endorse the red-hot Cactus Jack brand.

Lewis is the No. 1 ranked player in the nation according to ESPN.

Cactus Jack is the brainchild of Travis Scott, one the top rapper/singer/songwriters as well as being a social media maven.

For those of you who are not familiar with Cactus Jack or Travis Scott, don’t worry. We here at USA TODAY High School Sports can fill you in on why this is significant.

OK, OK. We didn’t know either, but we did research about Scott and his brand. The takeaway? This is a big deal for Lewis.

Scott is a huge deal with four hits that went to No. 1 on the Billboard 100. His social media following is massive.

His apparel line, Cactus Jack, is hugely successful and considered trend-setting. Scott is an entrepreneur extraordinaire, with a net worth of $80 million.

 

Lewis will feature in the promotion of the “Jack Goes Back to College” line that was released to coincide with this weekend’s Final Four.

Wisconsin HC Greg Gard says Badgers have ‘almost tripled NIL funds over the last year’

Promising news for Badgers fans:

Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard joined Milwaukee’s 97.3 The Game Thursday afternoon and discussed everything from the end of the 2023-24 season to the state of the program’s name, image and likeness licensing funds.

The interview comes at the start of a critical offseason for Gard and his program. The Badgers must replace the departed production of Tyler Wahl and A.J. Storr, address depth after the departures of Connor Essegian and Gus Yalden and find a replacement for Dean Oliver on the coaching staff.

Related: Everything Wisconsin HC Greg Gard said about NIL, his coaching staff and program changes in a recent radio interview

Here is everything Gard said on those topics, including a note that the Badgers have “almost tripled NIL funds over the last year:”

On turnover within the roster:

“Met with the team right after we got back from Brooklyn, the next day, and just addressed the white elephant of the portal. And knowing that ‘hey, some of you guys might have other opportunities, some of you may want to test the NBA waters and get feedback, some of you may want to jump two feet into it — referring to A.J. (Storr)'” Gard said. “Also knowing that other opportunities are going to come out there — poaching is real. We don’t need to duck it. … I addressed all those things.”

On the state of the sport and how to manage it:

“I think every case is different. Every player is different. A lot of players have agents now. … For AJ, it was a business decision, which I’m completely supportive of. He wants to chase the NBA dream. I want players who want to chase the NBA dreams. He’s going to test that water and run as far as he can. Then there’s also business decisions to make within the portal. For him, he’s in a category where those numbers are real. That’s just the business we’re in right now. For him, he’s gotta decide what’s the best option for him and the business part of that weighs into it more than it did three years ago, let alone 5-10 years ago.”

On the coaching staff change:

“It was my decision to make a change on my staff and move forward. Coach (Dean) Oliver did a good job for us. But I have to continue to move forward, and push this thing forward. We’re not going to stay in maintenance mode, we’re not going to stay status quo.”

On the Badgers’ NIL efforts:

“My staff and I, led really by coach (Joe) Krabbenhoft, started this initiative over a year ago of our ‘sixth man society’ as part of the Varsity Collective. Put a lot of boots on the ground raising funds. We’ve been able to almost triple our NIL collective in terms of men’s basketball in a year.”

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Ohio State receiver Carnell Tate signs NIL deal with hometown MLB team

One of the more unique NIL deals around. Congrats Carnell! #GoBucks

In the era of name, image and likeness, many collegiate players have been taking advantage to multiple opportunities that have presented themselves, and Ohio State football wide receiver, [autotag]Carnell Tate,[/autotag] is no different.

The rising-sophomore finished his high school career in Florida, but is an Illinois native. That fact he went to Marist High School, which is on the south side of Chicago, and gave the Chicago White Sox incentive to reach out to Tate about an NIL deal.

That all came to fruition as it was announced on Thursday that the Sox have partnered up with Tate, along with multiple other local collegiate stars as CHISOX Athlete Class of 2024.

The deal includes the opportunity to throw out the first pitch of a game, a photoshoot at Guaranteed Rate Field, and more.

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Jared McCain announces Sally Hansen partnership, explains why he paints his nails

Duke star freshman Jared McCain announced an NIL deal with nail polish company Sally Hansen on Thursday and explained why he paints his nails in a TikTok video.

Duke freshman Jared McCain usually stands out for his play, such as his 30-point performance against James Madison last weekend. However, the first-year guard also can be easily pointed out for his colorful hands.

McCain sports painted nails at every Duke game, usually rotating between Duke’s colors of blue and white in a different pattern.

On Thursday afternoon, the star Blue Devil shared a new NIL deal with nail polish company Sally Hansen on TikTok. In the minute-long video, McCain took the time to explain to his two million followers why he paints his nails.

“There’s really no crazy reason to it,” McCain said. “It helps me not bite my nails.”

The freshman said he just liked how it looked, but he did confess there was a larger reason for it soon after.

“One of the reasons I kept painting my nails is I had a game after I painted my nails and I ended up playing really well,” McCain said. “You know, I’m not crazy superstitious but if I thought it looked nice and I thought it helped me play better? And so far, it’s worked.”

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McCain addressed that some fans and comments belittle the idea of a man painting his nails, but he seemed at peace with the idea.

“Sorry if that offends any of you guys,” McCain said early on. “I know a lot of people disagree, a lot of people don’t like it, but I’m just going to be myself and do what I think looks nice.”

Jared McCain has the highest NIL valuation of any player in the NCAA Men’s Tournament

Duke guard Jared McCain is one of only two men’s college basketball players in the tournament with an NIL value north of $1 million, per On3.

It shouldn’t come as a shock to hear that Jared McCain’s name, image, and likeness is worth quite a lot, but the actual amount is pretty staggering.

According to On3’s NILvaluations, the first-year Blue Devil is worth $1.1 million, the third-most of any men’s college basketball player and the highest among players in the NCAA Tournament.

McCain scored 30 points in the second round against James Madison, making a program tournament record eight 3-pointers in the process. He also tied a Duke freshman record with 35 points against Florida State in February.

On top of that, McCain’s social media presence, posting himself dancing and singing along to songs, has endeared him to Duke fans and others across the country. He has more than two million followers on TikTok and more than 750,000 followers on Instagram.

The only men’s college basketball players worth more than McCain in On3’s calculations are Bronny James of USC and Hansel Emmanuel from Austin Peay.

Kentucky freshman Rob Dillingham is the only other player in the men’s tournament with a seven-figure valuation, although three women’s players have also surpassed $1 million (Iowa’s Caitlin Clark and LSU’s Angel Reese and Flau’jae Johnson).

Lincoln Riley says USC football NIL operation has ‘taken some monster leaps’

Lincoln Riley has expressed fresh confidence in USC football’s NIL approach and resources.

Many college football programs had taken a very liberal interpretation of the role collectives could play in the nascent years of the NIL game. USC football appeared to have taken a very conservative and cautious approach to anything that might resemble an “inducement” to lure a prospective athlete to the program. 

The NCAA’s recent balk at enforcing its NIL rules against the University of Tennessee, combined with recent successes in the 2025 high school recruiting class, have fans and the media asking if USC changed its NIL stance and competitiveness. USC head coach Lincoln Riley was asked about the big recruiting weekend and NIL after practice on Tuesday.

“NIL has taken some monster leaps since we have been here,” he began. “It’s taken some monster leaps in the last several months, which has been really positive. It’s great to see (for) our fan base and our supporters, for everybody. It’s just been gaining an understanding of what is imperative. You have to have it. Last year was great outside of the whole collective world. Our guys were able to obviously, being in L.A., get more outside deals than anybody in the country, which is awesome, but we need the support to be right there with it too from our donors and from our collectives. That has taken some massive, massive jumps here in the last several months as our people get educated on what that really means, but it’s got to continue. Like any part of this, you know you have to do something about it. Behaviors have to change. You have to tear down things and build new facilities. You have to bring more money in. You have to bring in great, great coaches. You have to raise more NIL. You got to keep pushing the issue. We’re trying to do it and we are asking all our people outside to continue to do that as well.”

It will be interesting to see if this trend continues or if this recruiting success was based solely on the impressions that USC’s secondary coach, Doug Belk, and new defensive line coach, Eric Henderson, and not an improved NIL setup. While the coaches are impactful, the words of Riley are encouraging for fans who have been asking for a more aggressive and competitive NIL operation.

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‘We need to have a commissioner’: Bob Stoops calls for a college football commissioner

Former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops says college football needs a commissioner.

One thing I think most college football fans can agree on is how poorly the NCAA is run. There is no consistency, and several teams have been rumored to be doing corrupt things without punishment.

You combine all of that with the NIL and transfer portal eras and it’s a recipe for chaos.

The transfer portal is probably the worst thing in college football right now. The immediate eligibility and unlimited ability to transfer has become an issue that plagues every team. Especially with it opening at the end of the regular season. A lot of players enter and leave instead of finishing bowl season with the team they are on.

Don’t get me wrong. It can also be a big help as it helps teams fill some of the holes in their rosters to make a run.

One person who is not a fan of how college football is being handled right now is legendary Oklahoma head coach, [autotag]Bob Stoops[/autotag].

“It’s not very good. I don’t think it’s very good for anybody,” Stoops said last week on 92.3 The Fan’s Afternoon Drive. “Is it sustainable? In my eyes, it’s not.”

Another person who has been outspoken about it is [autotag]Nick Saban[/autotag]. He’s even spoke about it being a reason he retired.

So, what is the answer? Stoops thinks it’s time to add a commissioner to oversee everything.

“It’s a pro model right now with college football,” Stoops said.”It’s a pro model. So, the NCAA isn’t governing it. We need to have a commissioner. We have to have salary caps on what you can spend. You have to have contracts, on and on. I don’t see how you cannot if it’s going to continue this way.”

I think Stoops is right on the money. It’s time for this stuff to be governed. NIL and the transfer portal don’t seem to be going anywhere and that’s fine. We can discuss if players should or should not be paid on a different day. But one thing is for certain: it’s out of control right now and should be managed.

I said when Saban retired he’d make a good commissioner for college football if he wanted to but another great choice for the job would be Stoops. In my opinion, it needs to be someone who either coached or played the sport. Preferably a former coach who coached during this era would be the best answer in my opinion because they know what’s going on and the difficulties it causes.

But for now, college football will continue to be the “Wild Wild West.”

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Jack Gohlke’s NIL deal with TurboTax is even more perfect than you thought

Jack Gohlke has been prepping for this endorsement for years

Jack Gohlke is getting the full March Madness treatment after his star performance in No. 14 Oakland’s upset of No. 3 Kentucky featured 10 3-pointers.

In the NIL era, that means he’s already getting endorsement deals and filming commercials at the team hotel in between practice, media appearances and prep for Saturday’s second round game against No. 11 NC State.

Up first is a deal with TurboTax, which makes complete sense since we’re in the middle of tax filing season. Gohlke filmed an admittedly low-budget, but high-comedy ad in what looks like the team hotel ballroom.

But there’s one simple reason his TurboTax deal is even more perfect than it looks on first glance: Gohlke already has his degree in accounting.

Good for Gohlke getting his money — and even better that he can figure out all the tax implications himself without having to ask his new sponsor for help.

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LSU women’s basketball star freshman Mikaylah Williams lands Jordan NIL deal

Mikaylah Williams hasn’t built the same NIL profile as Angel Reese and Flau’Jae Johnson, but the SEC Freshman of the Year is well on her way.

As a true freshman, [autotag]Mikaylah Williams[/autotag] hasn’t quite built the NIL profile of her teammates [autotag]Angel Reese[/autotag] and [autotag]Flau’Jae Johnson[/autotag]. But the LSU guard and SEC Freshman of the Year is well on her way.

Williams has now signed an NIL deal with Jordan Brand, becoming just the third amateur women’s basketball player to do so.

“Signing with Jordan Brand allows me to inspire young girls and contribute to the growth of women’s basketball,” Williams said in a statement, according to On3’s Pete Nakos.

The No. 1 recruit in the nation in the 2023 class, Williams has been a major contributor for the Tigers this season, averaging 14.4 points and 4.8 rebounds. She also set a program scoring record with 42 points in a game against Kent State earlier this year.

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