Who’s Cashing In on High School NIL? Big Brands Are Buying In, but the Paydays Vary

Elijah Haven and Peyton Houston don’t have to wait until college to share a sponsor with some of football’s biggest names.

The Louisiana high school quarterbacks joined Nike’s NIL roster this summer, putting the Dunham and Evangel Christian standouts into a brand family that includes NFL stars. In California, Ontario Christian basketball star Kaleena Smith has been an Adidas athlete since her sophomore year.

Those are the partnerships that make headlines. Another set of numbers offers a less glamorous look at the business.

In North Carolina, the largest reported high school NIL agreement in the 2025-26 school year was $25,000. The state education department reported regular amounts received by athletes ranging from $200 to $700, according to HighSchoolOT’s examination of the figures.

High school athletes are securing commercial opportunities. Determining who is earning the most, however, requires more than counting sponsorship announcements or comparing online valuations.

Louisiana Quarterbacks Join Nike’s Growing High School Roster

Haven and Houston were among 11 high school football players included in Nike’s July 16 announcement.

The group also included East Lincoln, North Carolina, tight end Jaxon Dollar; East St. Louis, Illinois, running back Myson Johnson-Cook; and American Heritage, Florida, quarterback Neimann Lawrence.

Nike said the prep signees emerged from The Opening showcase, illustrating how a prominent summer event can become a platform for commercial opportunities alongside recruiting exposure.

“Nike’s football roster has always been defined by the athletes who are shaping where the game goes next,” Ann Miller, the company’s executive vice president of global sports marketing, said in the announcement.

The company described support involving training, products, styling, media and content. It did not disclose the athletes’ financial terms. Their inclusion establishes a brand partnership, but does not establish how much each player has earned.

Kaleena Smith’s Adidas Partnership Reaches Beyond Her Sneakers

Smith’s agreement offers another example of how a high school athlete’s commercial reach can extend beyond an individual endorsement.

Adidas announced her signing in November 2024, making the Class of 2027 guard its first high school girls basketball NIL partner and the first signing under Candace Parker’s leadership of Adidas women’s basketball.

“I’m blessed to be part of something Candace is creating,” Smith said in the announcement.

Adidas said Smith would represent the company during her games. The announcement also included sponsorship of her Ontario Christian team and her AAU program, which would join the company’s 3SSB circuit.

That gave the partnership a presence in both school and grassroots basketball. Adidas did not disclose Smith’s compensation, leaving the financial value of her individual agreement outside the public announcement.

The Money Is Reaching Beyond Football and Basketball

Distance running is producing its own teenage brand ambassadors.

Natasza Dudek signed an NIL agreement with Brooks ahead of the 2026 outdoor season, FloTrack reported in April.

Her signing followed a breakthrough cross country season in which she won both Nike Cross Nationals and the Brooks XC Championships. FloTrack reported that she was the first high school girl to win both titles in the same season.

Her financial terms were not disclosed in that report. Still, the agreement demonstrates that national sponsorship opportunities extend to athletes whose visibility comes from individual championship performances rather than Friday night crowds or televised basketball games.

North Carolina’s Figures Reveal a Smaller, Growing Market

North Carolina’s disclosure figures provide a useful counterweight to the major-brand announcements.

According to HighSchoolOT, 21 athletes across 18 N.C. High School Athletic Association member schools had 24 approved agreements in 2025-26. The previous year involved 12 athletes and 17 agreements.

Participation increased, while the largest reported agreement fell from up to $1.2 million in the previous report to $25,000.

Those figures describe one state’s reported activity. They do not establish a national average, and the $200-to-$700 amounts should not be interpreted as annual earnings without additional information about payment schedules.

They do show that a growing NIL market can include relatively modest transactions alongside exceptional contracts.

A Six-Figure NIL Valuation Is Not a Disclosed Paycheck

The distinction becomes especially important when dollar figures appear alongside an athlete’s name.

In its June coverage of Adidas’ seven-player high school football NIL class, On3 listed quarterback Trae Taylor with a $703,000 NIL valuation at the time.

That figure was identified as a valuation, not the amount Adidas agreed to pay him. On3 described its calculation as combining roster value with an athlete’s potential value to brands.

The distinction matters for readers trying to understand who is cashing in. A valuation, an announced contract and compensation already received answer different questions.

For Haven, Houston, Smith and Dudek, the documented achievement is securing a place on a major brand’s roster while still in high school. Their publicly announced partnerships do not provide enough financial information to rank their earnings.

North Carolina’s disclosures offer a different view: athletes participating in a developing market where reported payments can be measured in hundreds of dollars.

Both belong in the high school NIL story. The challenge is making sure the biggest names and boldest numbers don’t obscure what is actually known about the money.

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