Missouri High Schooler Reportedly Signs NIL Deal Worth Millions With Miami Hurricanes

The Miami Hurricanes got the top offensive line recruit in the country and it is likely going to cost them a fortune.

Nixa High School offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell, the No. 1 ranked high school football recruit for the class of 2026, announced he will play football at Miami during a ceremony on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. / Nathan Papes/Springfield News-Leader / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Miami Hurricanes had to be smiling from ear-to-ear on Tuesday when they signed the top offensive lineman in the 2026 recruiting class, but it was not an inexpensive move.

Nixa High School (Missouri) offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell announced his commitment to the Hurricanes on Tuesday.

Pete Nakos of On3Sports had reported that Miami had offered Cantwell a $2 million NIL deal on May 7. That was almost a week ago, so the negotiations could have risen more since then.

The last reported offer from another school was the Georgia Bulldogs, who came in at $1.5 million. No matter what, Cantwell was going to sign for a massive amount of money somewhere.

What is really crazy, is the fact that he is still just 16 years old for a couple more weeks. He is a highly-touted football player, a national champion in track and field and scored a 33 on his ACT as an eighth-grader, per Hayes Fawcett of On3Sports.

This is an athlete that could truly live up to the "generational tag" so for a school like the Hurricanes to bring him in is a massive win.

They aren't a small school by any means, but their competition in the Bulldogs and Oregon Ducks have dominated recent recruiting cycles.

Cantwell has also come out and started that it wasn't just money that brought him to Miami. He even went as far as to call Nakos out by name.

"It's not the same narrative that people like Pete Nakos are pushing right now," said Cantwell to DawgNation.

Instead, he says that it was the relationships that he has built with the Hurricanes coaches during his recruitment.

"They spent the most time with me. They put the most effort into recruiting me. I I've got a lot of skin in the game with all these schools as far as like getting represented by Drew [Rosenhaus] and making sure that I'm going to to fairly compensated. And I think every school has done a good job with that and being accommodating with that."

Money aside, no one needs to think too hard about an offensive lineman's decision to play for Miami. Mario Cristobal and Alex Mirabal are two of the most respected coaches in the sport when it comes to the line.

Cantwell should be a good spot to develop into a potential NFL first round pick with the Hurricanes.

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