Kentucky QB commit Cutter Boley talks plans for NIL, endorsement deal with Jay-Z's Paper Planes

Cutter Boley has big plans for his NIL brand.

The four-star quarterback opted to stay home for college, committing to Kentucky in May and reclassifying to the 2024 recruiting class. He brought on Roc Nation, which is founded and owned by Jay-Z, for NIL representation in August.

Boley is building out his portfolio early on, too.

The quarterback signed an NIL deal with the apparel brand Paper Planes, he tells On3. The lifestyle and apparel brand is also run by Jay-Z; Boley’s been brought on as an ambassador promoting the company on his social media channels.

With lifestyle T-shirts, hats, sweatshirts and apparel, he will continue to star in campaigns for Paper Planes throughout his college career. Kentucky is one of 34 states that allow high schoolers to monetize their NIL without losing their eligibility.

“I’m really excited, especially being in my hometown of Lexington, I feel like we can do a lot of things really meaningful things,” he told On3. “I think I can really affect the community through some deals that I do. I can really get out there and do a bunch of things for a lot of different people whether it’s running a youth camp or food drives. I’m about to do something with Sunrise Children’s Services, which is for foster children.

“I want to do a bunch of stuff through NIL that can really affect the community that really means a lot to me and the people that I grew up around.”

Cutter Boley’s focus on winning state title

Before Boley enrolls at Kentucky this January and focuses on the Wildcats, he has some unfinished business. The quarterback and his Lexington Christian team are 11-1, coming off a 57-14 win in the second round of the Kentucky Class 2A playoffs.

A win on Friday night would have Boley playing in the semifinals. The 6-foot-5 quarterback completed 63.5% of his passes for 3,901 yards with 36 touchdowns and 15 interceptions while leading Lexington Christian to the state semifinals a year ago.

“I’ve just been focused on winning the state championship,” Boley said. “That’s the main goal right now with my high school team.”

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Kentucky commit’s growing NIL brand

The quarterback picked Kentucky over Tennessee, Michigan, Penn State and Florida State. He’s just the fifth top-300 prospect to play quarterback in the state of Kentucky.

On3’s Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power has been complimentary of Cutter Boley, pointing out the quarterback’s strong downfield arm. He’s also playing a scheme at Lexington Christian that has a resemblance to what Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Coen is currently running.

Ranked as the No. 166 prospect in the 2024 class, Cutter Boley isn’t new to the NIL scene. Earlier this month he signed on with SuckerPunch as one of his first experiences in NIL. Working with the company on a marketing campaign, he’ll be promoting its two-ounce Pickle Juice Shots for hydrating on the go, available in Classic Dill and Spicy Pepper flavors. 

He was able to dish out some free samples to teammates and has been using it through his playoff run.

“It’s kind of surreal for me to sign my first NIL deal in high school,” the quarterback said. “Seeing all the other guys promoting different things out there, it’s definitely really cool. But being able to promote something that I can use from game to game and use in preparation and during the game to stay hydrated – that’s very cool.”

The quarterback has an On3 NIL Valuation of $153,000, which ranks in the top 100 of high school football. He’s also closing in on 20,000 social media followers.

About the On3 NIL Valuation

The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. A proprietary algorithm, the On3 NIL Valuation calculates an athlete’s NIL value using dynamic data points targeting three primary categories: performance, influence and exposure.

About On3 NIL Valuation, Brand Value, Roster Value

While the algorithm includes deal data, it does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals athletes have completed to date, nor does it set an athlete’s NIL valuation for their entire career. The On3 NIL Valuation accounts for an athlete’s roster value and brand value. Roster value is the value an athlete has by being a member of his or her team at his or her school, which factors into the role of NIL collectives. Brand value factors in an athlete’s personal brand and the value it could bring to regional and national brands outside of the scope of NIL collectives.