Family of Faizon Brandon, No. 1 2026 QB, suing over state NIL laws

Rolanda Brandon, the mother of Tennessee commit and top 2026 quarterback recruit Faizon Brandon, is suing the North Carolina State Board of Education over its NIL laws, which bans high school athletes from profiting off their name, image and likeness.

The suit, filed in Wake County, North Carolina, alleges that “by imposing a full ban, the Board exceeded its authority under Senate Bill 452 and has harmed F.B. [Faizon Brandon], widely regarded as the nation’s top-rated high school football recruit his class—by unlawfully restricting his right to freely use his NIL, which he and he alone owns, thereby jeopardizing his ability to capitalize on life-changing opportunities currently available to him and provide himself and his family with financial security.”

Brandon, the No. 5 recruit nationally and No. 1 quarterback in the junior class, holds an On3 NIL Valuation of $567K. That valuation is the highest of any 2026 football recruit and No. 14 among all high school football players across all classes. He committed to Tennessee earlier this summer over offers from LSU, NC State, Alabama and dozens of other programs.

The state’s athletic association (NCHSAA) previously allowed private schools to engage in NIL activities beginning in July 2021 — when the NCAA issued its first guidance on the subject.

Those athletes could capitalize, license and make commercial use of their NIL, whereas public school athletes were not permitted to do so. Grimsley High School, where Brandon attends and plays football, was not allowed to participate under those rules.

Rule changes have upended NIL debates in North Carolina

In May 2023, the NCHSAA altered its regulations to permit NIL activities for its public schools members, bringing it up to par with a growing number of states across the country. That would have gone into effect on July 1, 2023, but according to On3’s Pete Nakos, North Carolina politicians shut the measure down barely a day later with legislation that eventually stripped the state association of much of its power and threatened its very existence.

In October 2023, the North Carolina General Assembly passed Senate Bill 452 to “regulate NIL for commercial purposes and to codify NIL policy for public schools.”

Earlier this summer in June, the state’s Board of Education instead approved a temporary NIL rule which now fully prohibits public schools athletes from profiting off their name, image and likeness.

That rule doesn’t apply to the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association (NCISSA), which governs athletics at nearly 100 private schools in the state.

The decision by the state board leaves North Carolina in a minority of states that ban high school athletes from profiting off their NIL, with more than 30 other state associations allowing some NIL activity by high school athletes, according to Business of College Sports.