4-star LSU OL Emery Jones signs first major NIL deal

Emery Jones, the coveted On3 Consensus four-star interior offensive line recruit who was one of the top prospects in LSU’s 2022 recruiting class, has agreed to his first major NIL deal.

Jones, who was ranked as the nation’s sixth-best interior offensive lineman and No. 100 overall, announced he’s agreed to a NIL deal with Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys.

Excited to announce my partnership with @getgordon. We have some big things planned this season with #TheGTeam 🔥 #YourTeamMatters #GetGordonAthlete #GetGordon #GeauxTigers pic.twitter.com/xEDpF7RZIY

— Emery Jones (@Emeryjones50_) August 23, 2022

The terms of the deal were not released.

The 6-foot-6, 325-pound offensive lineman out of Baton Rouge (La.) Catholic was an Under Armour All-American. He picked the Tigers over a long list of offers. But in the end, he said it was between the hometown Tigers and Arkansas.

“LSU was home, and I wanted to be close to family,” Jones said. “My goal at LSU is to go and make a big impact my freshman year. Then my biggest goal is to be done with LSU and go to the next level in three years.”

That expectation of instant success was a big reason why Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys agreed to the NIL deal.

“Emery Jones is going to do great things with the Tigers,” attorney Gordon McKernan said. “Excited to partner with this Baton Rouge native.”

Emery Jones not only NIL deal McKernan has executed

While other schools are buoyed by successful collectives, individually Gordon McKernan has become one of the biggest NIL deal makers in the country.

Yes, he hasn’t generated as much national attention as Miami mega-booster John Ruiz and LifeWallet. But McKernan and his firm, Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys, have struck major NIL deals with LSU stars like Kayshon Boutte, Jaquelin Roy, Malik Nabers and other impact Tiger players. Heck, he even did a deal last week with five-star linebacker signee Harold Perkins.

McKernan’s firm is not just focused on football.

He’s executed deals with LSU women’s basketball star Alexis Morris, top Tiger baseball players Cade Doughty and Tre Morgan, and NCAA track national champion Sean “Squirrel” Burrell. Furthermore, he’s also done deals with Louisiana Ragin Cajun players Dontae Fleming and Andre Jones.

When asked about his plans for further potential sponsorships, McKernan was clear: “I think there’s a lot of value for helping a student-athlete and at the same time helping our company, so we’re going to … do it across multiple sports,” he told WBRZ.

“We look forward to helping the LSU community in the long-term, generating goodwill both for these athletes and for the Gordon McKernan firm.”

McKernan also told Sports Illustrated the price tag for elite players is often at least $100,000 in NIL salary. McKernan said he will pay $500,000 in NIL deals this year.

Jones has solid On3 NIL Valuation

Emery Jones currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $43,000. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. The On3 NIL Valuation calculates the optimized NIL opportunity for athletes relative to the overall NIL market and projects out to as long as 12 months into the future.