adidas Signs First High School Basketball Player
As NIL deals continue to filter down into the prep rankings, global sportswear giant adidas just made brand history with their recent signing. On Friday, the three stripes and high school junior Darryn Peterson announced a NIL partnership, making him the first prep player to sign with the company.
The 16-year-old Peterson and adidas made the announcement via collaboration posts on social media.
“I’m extremely proud to join an elite group of athletes with adidas,” Peterson said in a statement. “I look forward to working with the team as I embark on this pivotal moment in my career.”
Previously, adidas has partnered with a select roster of college athletes, most notably Washington quarterback and Heisman favorite, Michael Penix Jr., his top wide receiver, Rome Odunze, LSU star Hailey Van Lith and Hansel Enmanuel of Austin Peay, among others.
“Darryn is an all-star athlete and at such a young age embodies what adidas Basketball is all about,” adidas basketball’s global general manager Eric Wise said. “We cannot wait to see what the future holds and welcome him into the 3 Stripe family.”
Peterson - the top guard in the class of 2025 - won’t even sign a letter-of-intent until at least November of next year. Currently, he’s a junior with Huntington Prep in Huntington, W.V.
The five-star previously played for Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy in Ohio. There, he averaged 31 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 1.3 assists and was a finalist for the Ohio Mr. Basketball Award as a sophomore. However, high school athletes can’t tap into NIL in Ohio. They can, however, in West Virginia. Hence his move to Huntington.
In September, he trimmed his prospective schools down to 16, and it reads like a who’s who of college basketball — Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Indiana, Kansas, Kansas State, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, North Carolina, Ohio State, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas and UCLA.
Peterson could also opt to go the G League route and play with the Ignite team for a year before declaring for the NBA Draft.
