The Price Is Right: Notre Dame Running Back Inks Jewelry NIL Deal

The Future Of Irish NIL breaks into the mainstream culture with Jadarian Price's NIL deal.

Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price celebrates scoring a touchdown during a NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Stanford at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in South Bend. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Notre Dame RB Jadarian Price Lands Jewelry NIL Deal

Jadarian Price inks deal with celebrity jeweler

Notre Dame running back JD Price made some news recently when he inked an NIL deal with celebrity jeweler Johnny Dang, who typically works with celebrity clients such as pro athletes and musicians in the hip hop music scene. The deal includes a custom piece of Dang designed jewelry and will come with many high-level networking opportunities.

Notre Dame players signing NIL deals isn't new, but this kind of deal is. Here's what it could mean for the Irish's future NIL operations.

Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price is one of several college football stars inking the coolest NIL deal to date pic.twitter.com/rReeY20X9J

— TMZ (@TMZ) February 24, 2025

This NIL deal hit mainstream media culture

The deal Price signed with Dang is a far cry from an Irish player signing an NIL contract with a local South Bend diner to be promised free breakfast for life. This deal moved the needle in a broader pop-culture way. The story of this deal reached TMZ and many other national pop-culture outlets.

This is the latest step in the evolution of what Notre Dame's NIL operation could look like in the future.

While I certainly respect and value NIL deals by Irish players that support local companies, deals like this move the needle in a different way and reach a much broader national audience, including recruits that the Irish would like to sign.

All of this attention on a national pop-culture scale is terrific PR for Notre Dame and helps it show that not everything is antiquated and traditional in South Bend.

Branching out to NIL deals that move the national needle needs to be a priority in the future for Notre Dame and this deal is a terrific step in that direction.

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