INTEL: More details of the Bronny James recruitment

Bronny James ranks No. 1 in On3’s NIL 100. His Name, Image, and Likeness On3 Valuation is $6.4 million, or $78,000 per post, across all platforms. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes.

Not only is LeBron “Bronny” James, Jr., amateur sports’ top-earning athlete, but he is also the most famous. His games sell out across the country. Bronny’s Chatsworth (CA) Sierra Canyon School is in the middle of a three-game European tour that ESPN is broadcasting. 

All this is to say that Bronny James generates interest. So when ESPN’s Paul Biancardi dropped the nugget in an ESPN+ article last week that Bronny James was being recruited by UCLA, Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon, and Southern California, the news spread quickly. 

Up until Biancardi’s article, Bronny James’ recruitment was a mystery. His last publicized offers were from NC Central and NC A&T in January 2021. There was speculation about what the four-star guard’s next steps might be, but most of that was guesswork. 

With this news, On3 hit the ground running. Sourcing information from all angles of the recruitment, gathering as much intel as possible to wrap our arms around the situation. 

What we know

There is nothing easy about this recruitment from a coverage standpoint. People around the situation are being as tight-lipped as I have ever seen in a recruitment. 

On3 is handling this recruitment the same way. But we did want to parse through the intel we have sourced, on each program that has been made public, and we can speak on.

Ohio State:  This is the program that Lebron James grew up a fan of. He famously said during a football pep rally called ‘Skull Sessions’ in 2013, “If I would have had one year of college, I would have ended up down here in Columbus at Ohio State.”

Intel: Sources tell On3 that Ohio State is actively recruiting James. There has been contact between the parties, and there is talk of a visit that is being scheduled. 

Michigan: Lebron James played with Michigan head coach Juwan Howard for three seasons and then was coached by Howard, with the Miami Heat, for two seasons. The pair were part of two NBA championship teams in their time together.

Intel: From the information On3 has sourced, it does not appear Michigan is actively recruiting James at this time. 

Oregon: Lebron James signed a lifetime deal with Nike toward the end of 2015. Oregon is Nike’s flagship program. Nike co-founder and chairman Phil Knight attended school in Eugene and remained very close to the program. James and Nike are reportedly business partners in other ventures as well. 

Intel: Sources tell On3 that Oregon is actively recruiting James. The two parties have been in contact, and there is an active mutual interest. 

Southern California: Lebron James signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018. Bronny James has attended Sierra Canyon School, which is 45 minutes – with good traffic – from the USC campus. Former four-star teammate Kijani Wright is a freshman at USC. Lebron James also is an owner of an entertainment firm based in Los Angeles called the SpringHill Co.

Intel: Sources tell On3 that USC is actively recruiting James, and there is mutual interest. 

UCLA: You can reference the above ties to the Los Angeles area for James and his family. A minor difference being the Westwood campus is only 25 minutes away from Bronny’s Sierra Canyon School campus. Bronny James was high school teammates of UCLA freshman Amari Bailey for three years. 

Intel: From the information On3 has sourced it does not appear UCLA is actively recruiting James at this time.

Stay tuned to On3.com as we will continue to bring you all the information as we are able.