Bronny James signs NIL deal with Nike
LeBron James has a lifetime contact with Nike, and now his son Bronny James has joined him in the Nike family after signing a name, image and likeness rights deal with the Oregon shoe giant.
A series of court decisions opened the door for college athletes to receive compensation for their name, images or likeness without losing eligibility to play NCAA sports or lose their amateur status. That's why we're seeing Alabama QB and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young in Dr. Pepper commercials.
The NIL revolution has also hit high school sports, with Bronny and his Sierra Canyon classmate JuJu Watkins, the No. 2 recruit in ESPN's HoopGurlz recruiting rankings, both getting deals. ESPN has Bronny as the No. 34 recruit in his high school class, though obviously he has a very high profile from his famous father. Bronny has 6.6 million Instagram followers despite posting just 18 times, so he's clearly a social media sensation.
As for the other signees, Caitlin Clark was a first-team All-American and the Big Ten Player of the Year last season with Iowa, with deep, Steph Curry-esque range on her jump shot.
Dajuan "DJ" Wagner Junior is ESPN's No. 1 recruit in the high school class of 2023, a 6'3" point guard who scored 21 points against Bronny and Sierra Canyon in January, and also did this:
Haley Jones is a senior point guard for Stanford University who was the Most Outstanding Player at the 2021 Final Four when Stanford won the national championship. Her coach, Tara Vanderveer, called her "the Magic Johnson of women's basketball."
You'd have to assume that Nike is also the leader to sign Bronny James to a regular shoe deal whenever his professional career begins, be it 2024 or later.
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