2023 5 Star Recruit Signs $8 Million Deal

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On Friday, a five-star recruit in the Class of 2023 signed an agreement with a school’s NIL collective that could pay him more than $8 million by the end of his junior year of college, The Athletic has learned. He’ll be paid $350,000 almost immediately, followed by monthly payouts escalating to more than $2 million per year once he begins his college career, in exchange for making public appearances and taking part in social media promotions and other NIL activities “on behalf of (the collective) or a third party.”

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“Whatever casual sports fans or coaches think student-athletes are earning from collectives, they’re (undershooting) by 10X. While $2 million (a year) is wild, $200,000 isn’t, but most people are thinking they’re getting $20,000.”

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As per NCAA rules, the contract explicitly states, “nothing in this Agreement constitutes any form of inducement for (the athlete) to enroll at any school and/or join any athletic team.” There is no mention of any specific university, only that he be “enrolled at an NCAA member institution and a member of the football team at such institution,” ostensibly to avoid violating the NCAA’s pay-for-play rule. The only specific circumstances by which the collective could terminate the contract early is if the player violates a confidentiality clause or a clause about conducting himself with “the utmost character and integrity.”

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in exchange for receiving his lucrative advances, the player hands over to the collective exclusive rights to use of his NIL, which would then negotiate outside opportunities on his behalf. In theory, that could dissuade him from entering the transfer portal, as he would not be able to make paid appearances promoting his next school.

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He decried some of the tactics those groups and NIL agents are using to maintain control over the athlete. In one draft version of another deal The Athletic reviewed, the collective agreed to pay an athlete $1.5 million across two years but could “from time to time” ask for repayment of that money, plus a 10 percent commission and expenses — even if the agreement were to be terminated.

“Man, that is terrifying, quite frankly,” said Malik S. Jackson, a Florida-based attorney who works in the NIL space. “That was a terrible provision, and if that’s put in, that’s a sign the collective is not athlete-centric. It can’t be.”

Jackson compared it to one-sided contracts in the music industry commonly referred to as “360 deals,” where record companies claim a share of an artist’s future earnings.

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The fact that a high school junior has been promised more than $8 million to entice him toward a specific school — even if not put in writing — no doubt will horrify college administrators, many of them already frustrated by the NCAA’s inability to police NIL.

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But many in the profession believe the NCAA wants no part in trying to enact restrictions on athletes’ NIL compensation due to last summer’s Supreme Court decision in the Alston antitrust case. As long as all parties are smart enough to not put anything recruiting-related in writing and the athlete can prove he or she is providing legitimate NIL services, there may be no limit to the rapidly soaring dollar figures permeating recruiting. “Nobody knows what these kids are actually worth because there’s not enough data,” Lawrence said. “Imagine you’re selling your home, Zillow never existed and someone comes up and says they’ll give you $50,000 for your house. You have no idea whether that’s good or bad, but it sounds like a lot, so you take it. But then you go and search Zillow and find out it was actually worth $500,000.” The top high school prospects are quickly learning they’re worth far more than that.

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