The USC Trojan's crown jewel of their 2025 recruiting class, quarterback Julian Lewis, is redefining what recruitment looks like in the NIL era.
Lewis has signed NIL deals with Alo Yoga, Cactus Jack, and Leaf Trading Cards. If his commitment with Trojans stick, he would become the second USC quarterback to have a deal with Alo after USC legend Caleb Williams.
According to On3’s High School NIL Rankings, Lewis sits at No. 2, along with Tennessee commit David Sanders Jr., with a NIL valuation of $1.1 million dollars, only behind LSU commit Bryce Underwood at $1.3 million.
Despite having some big deals already, there is one major brand that Lewis said would be a dream to work with.
"“Everybody wants that Jordan, Nike, all that stuff, that’s smooth. I think that’s every kid’s dream is getting a Nike deal," Lewis revealed in an interview with Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders' podcast, 2Legendary.
Lewis added that his non-clothing company dream NIL deal would be Lamborgini. The company is most well-known for their NIL deals with the University Of Texas.
“I’m not gonna lie, Texas had all that Lambo stuff going on. That junt was cool,” Lewis said. “Like, when they had that stuff. Stuff like that, that’s an eye-catcher for being a 16-year-old. You’re like, gonna go and get a Lambo. Stuff like that. That junt cool. I don’t really know.”
The No. 46 ranked prospect in the class of 2025 according to 247Sports, Lewis has been terrific so far this season as he's thrown for 1034 yards and 18 touchdowns this season already as he's led Carrollton to a 4-0 record so far.
Most recently, Lewis had a phenomenal night on Friday night as he led MaxPreps No. 10 Carrollton to a 63-0 win over Lithia Springs. Lewis posted insane stats in theTrojans’ win over the Lions. He went 12-14 for 282 yards and 6 touchdowns.
MORE: USC Trojans Building Momentum As a Playoff Contender: Focused on 'Present Moment'
MORE: USC Trojan Football: Three Instant Takeaways From 48-0 Win Over Utah State
MORE: USC Trojans vs. Utah State: Instant Analysis, Lincoln Riley's Aggressive Trojans
MORE: USC Trojans Coach Lincoln Riley Reacts To Miller Moss TMZ Investigation
MORE: Every Time USC Football was Mentioned on College GameDay in Week 2
More must-reads:
The Cleveland Browns are a step closer to finding their starting quarterback for the upcoming season. The Browns had a four-way race for the QB1 job entering training camp. Rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders were long-shot contenders for the gig. The real competition has been between Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco. However, the race has dramatically changed following Pickett's hamstring injury. Per Zac Jackson of The Athletic, Flacco is now the "strong favorite" to win the starting job, as the veteran has taken advantage of his reps while Pickett remains limited at practice. "Pickett said he’s working '24-7' to get back to full speed but acknowledged he’s losing ground," Jackson wrote. "Joe Flacco’s two best throwing days have been the two most recent days, Friday and Saturday. Neither of the rookies ever had much of a realistic chance to win the starting job this August, and over the last week, Flacco has gone from presumed favorite to strong favorite. What always mattered most was finding the No. 1 — even if that status was going to be in flux at some point — and letting the folks in charge evaluate and decide on the rest of the depth chart and the room. There’s a lot of camp left, and there’s obviously a lot still to be settled with Pickett, Dillon Gabriel and Sanders. Flacco's resurgence in 2023, when he won NFL Comeback Player of the Year, was the main reason the Browns made the playoffs that season. His familiarity with Cleveland and head coach Kevin Stefanski makes him the natural choice to start Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals, even if Pickett wasn't sidelined for team drills.
The Indiana Fever have found a way to keep winning with star Caitlin Clark on the sidelines with a groin injury, improving their record to 17-12 with a win Sunday over the Seattle Storm. While it remains unclear exactly when Clark could take the floor again, her expected return timeline could match up well with a critical stretch in the Fever's schedule. ESPN's Holly Rowe reported in late July that while Clark remained day-to-day, it would be realistic for her to return sometime around the third week in August. That could put the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year back on the court for what could be the team's most important stretch of the season -- a back-to-back set with the league-leading Minnesota Lynx on August 22 and 24. The Fever are looking to climb up in the crowded playoff standings, and getting at least a split from the home-and-home series with the Lynx could be critical. Fever coach Stephanie White stressed after Sunday's win that the team was not going to rush Clark back onto the court. "I know she wants to be out here on the floor, we want her out here on the floor, but making sure that she's ready is the most important thing," White said. "I still don't know how far we are, we're gonna take it one step at a time, one day at a time, and go from there."
Night one of SummerSlam 2026 ended with a bang. Seth Rollins came back from what now appears to have been a fake injury, cashing in his Money In The Bank briefcase against CM Punk. The WWE fanbase had long postulated the idea of Rollins returning at SummerSlam. His return felt like low-hanging fruit. Yet, despite the expectations, both Punk and Rollins played the situation perfectly. Now, as we head into night two of SummerSlam, there is a new World Heavyweight Champion in town. When speaking at the SummerSlam post-show, Paul "Triple H" Levesque admitted, albeit in kayfabe, that he wasn't pleased with Rollins falsifying injury reports to get the upper hand on Punk. "Seth Rollins is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers," Levesque said. "And he comes out, goes through none of it and takes the World Heavyweight Championship. My hats off to Seth Rollins. That’s a smart way to do business. Not thrilled about bogus medical reports, but we’ll deal with that down the line." Not everyone will be happy with Rollins becoming the new champion. They will feel like Punk was robbed. Or that WWE creative took the easiest route possible. And in truth, they're probably right. However, sometimes the best way to progress a story is to go with the most obvious segue. The fact is, everyone came away from the SummerSlam main event with some form of emotion. The story being told worked; it made people feel. And now, the storyline moves on to how Punk and Rollins — two heated rivals — will move forward. A future title match is all but guaranteed, yet it's the story, week after week, month after month, that will captivate people. WWE used SummerSlam as a jumping-off point, and now, we could see the very best of CM Punk, likely culminating in a main-event title match at WrestleMania 42. So, yes, Rollins' win was a deflating moment for many, but what comes from that moment will keep wrestling fans talking for the next six to 12 months, and that was likely the whole point.
As the NHL salary cap begins to rise significantly, young restricted free agents are finding themselves at the heart of a shifting contract landscape. For the Montreal Canadiens and defenseman Lane Hutson, that means determining a new contract that reflects his actual value—without disrupting the team’s internal structure. While fans eagerly await an extension for the skilled blueliner, Elliotte Friedman noted on his latest 32 Thoughts podcast episode that the Canadiens initially hoped to keep Hutson’s number under Nick Suzuki’s $7.875 million cap hit. Suzuki, the team’s captain and centerpiece forward, has been the financial benchmark for Montreal’s core. However, the market has moved. A contract like Noah Dobson’s—eight years at $9.5 million per season signed this summer—is now seen as a more realistic comp, which creates potential issues for the Canadiens and their contract negotiations moving forward. As one insider put it, teams and players are “still figuring out” the new sweet spot for long-term RFA deals, especially as they try to project future jumps in the salary cap. The good news is that Hutson is one of the few big deals the Canadiens have to worry about. Most of their key players are locked into what will be viewed as team-friendly deals over the next few seasons. Still, the Canadiens may ultimately have to accept that Hutson’s extension will land well above Suzuki’s figure, especially as the 2025-26 offseason sees another leap in the salary cap. Comparable defensemen will ink richer deals, and Hutson may be the best among them. Should Canadiens Push for Hutson Contract Extension, Or Will Hutson Wait? As is the case with many teams that have big-name UFA and RFA players waiting for the market to sort itself out, this is a fluid situation in Montreal. Hutson’s extension may be about timing. But with each passing day, the pressure grows on the Canadiens to strike a balance between rewarding a future star and preserving the peace on what players are being paid already by the team. Lane Hutson’s next contract won’t just shape his future—it might quietly reshape Montreal’s.
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!