2024 On3 Elite Series set to kick off Tuesday in Nashville

The second annual 2024 On3 Elite Series, presented by D1 Hardin Valley, begins Tuesday in Nashville, welcoming the top college football prospects in the nation to educate and inform how to safely navigate the NIL Era.

Thirty-four of the top 100 prospects in the 2025 recruiting class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, will be in attendance. The private two-day event is designed to give each athlete and their family an education on the NIL climate they’ll soon enter in college. On3 Elite will bring in former college and professional athletes, marketing executives, legal and financial experts, among others. Seventeen of the athletes in attendance can monetize their NIL rights as high schoolers.

Held at the W Nashville Hotel, invitations to the event have been extended to athletes and a guardian. 

“We’re excited and ready to put on a top-level event for the stars of tomorrow,” Head of On3 Elite Grant Frerking said. “Our goal is to create an experience for athletes to learn more about financial literacy, entrepreneurship, navigating the new era of NIL, while planning for the long game of life after football. We have assembled an all-star panel of speakers of current and former athletes to share their wisdom and experiences.”

Which top recruits will be in Nashville?

In total, 46 prospects will be in Nashville, marking one of the few times so many recruits from the 2025 recruiting class will gather before they enroll in college.

Thirteen quarterbacks will be attending the On3 Elite Series, headlined by the nation’s top prospect Bryce Underwood. An LSU commit since January, he chose the Tigers over Alabama, Michigan and many others. Despite not being able to profit from his NIL as a high school athlete in Michigan, he’s closing in on 100,000 social media followers with more than 80K from Instagram alone. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound quarterback passed for 3,329 yards and 41 touchdowns in 2023, touting a completion percentage of 64.9% and throwing just three interceptions.

USC quarterback commit Julian Lewis will also be in Nashville. As a high school athlete in Georgia, he’s started to capitalize on NIL, inking endorsement deals with Leaf Trading Cards, Cactus Jack and Alo Yoga. He holds a $1 million On3 NIL Valuation, the top-ranked valuation in high school football.

The top two uncommitted players in the class, offensive tackle David Sanders and wide receiver Dakorien Moore, will also be in Nashville. Sanders is coming off a visit to Tennessee, while Moore has upcoming officials set for Ohio State, Oregon and Texas.

A slew of the top defensive backs will be in attendance, including Five-Star Plus+ corner Devin Sanchez, Five-Star Plus+ corner DJ Pickett, Five-Star Plus+ corner Na’eem Offord, five-star safety Jonah Williams, five-star safety Trey McNutt, five-star corner Dorian Brew, five-star corner Dijon Lee and five-star safety JaDon sBlair.

Shreveport (Louisiana) Calvary Baptist On300 running back James Simon will make a live announcement from the rooftop of the W Hotel looking over downtown Nashville. Alabama, LSU, Notre Dame, Texas and Texas A&M are finalists.

Full list of athletes at On3 NIL Elite Series

What speakers will be attending On3 NIL Elite Series?

Miami basketball players Haley and Hanna Cavinder will be attending the event. The duo announced their first NIL deal with Boost Mobile in Times Square on the first day of college sports’ new era on July 1, 2021. From there, they’ve used their combined social media following of more than five million to sign with brands like Raising Cane’s, Victoria’s Secret PINK and Champs Sports.

Former Nebraska and NFL linebacker Will Compton will be a speaker, discussing how college football players need to maximize their opportunities.

“Athletes that get to play at a high level have such a head start,” Compton said on the “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast, which he co-hosts. “They also have one of the shortest windows to capitalize on it. They have to take advantage of their moment.”

CAA is a sponsor of this year’s On3 Elite Series and will host a panel with Jimmy Sexton and Ed Berry. Other sponsors of the 2024 On3 Elite Series include Big Visual Group, Certor Football, Five Star Fans, Gurdian Caps, Inhale, TheLinkU, Mirena & Co. and Opendorse.

Morgan Stanley’s Global Sports & Entertainment division, also a sponsor, will hold a panel on managing wealth and sustaining resources. Former NFL player Andrew Hawkins will address athletes, too.

How to follow along

On3 will covering every angle of the event, with multiple reporters on the ground covering NIL to the latest on each athlete’s recruitment. On3’s VP of Recruiting & Transfer Portal Steve Wiltfong and Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons will catch up with recruits as they enter the month of June, which is official visit season.

On3’s national reporter Pete Nakos will be running a live blog of On3 NIL Elite Series, focused on sharing some advice guest speakers share, the experience athletes have had dealing with NIL in their recruitments and the latest on the NIL marketplace. On3’s J.D. Pickell, Josh Newberg, Phillip Dukes and Andy Staples will be delivering video content throughout the week.

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