Florida's Desmond Watson inks NIL deal with Gainesville Jimmy John's

Desmond Watson has become the first college athlete to promote a Jimmy John’s franchise.

The Florida defensive lineman will host a meet-and-greet this Saturday at the sandwich shop from noon to 1 p.m. ET, engaging with fans and customers while working behind the counter. The business was founded by Jimmy John Liautaud in 1983 in Charleston, Illinois. The brand has now grown to more than 2,700 locations.

Owned by the J3 Subs Restaurant Group, the Gainesville Jimmy John’s is located at Butler Plaza. Watson is repped by Grady Sports NIL. Primarily an NFL agency run by Joshua Grady, the firm has branched out into NIL and currently works with Ohio State’s Bryson Rodgers and Florida receivers Eugene Wilson III and Ricky Pearsall.

Watson, a 6-foot-5, 439-pound lineman, started in 10 games last season for the Gators, tallying 25 tackles with 1.5 TFLs. His best game arguably came against South Carolina in November, totaling three tackles while forcing and recovering his own fumble.

A third-year player at Florida, he appeared in all 13 games as a reserve in the 2021 season. A three-star recruit coming out of Armwood High School in Plant City, Florida, Watson chose the Gators over offers from Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida State.

The defensive tackle has become a fan favorite in The Swamp, known for his work in transforming his body and getting into football shape.

Desmond Watson’s On3 NIL Valuation

Desmond Watson has an $89,000 On3 NIL Valuation, which ranks in the top 900 of the college football NIL rankings. He has previously inked NIL agreements with Oberon Asscher, Fishbowl and Body Armour. The lineman has nearly 35,000 social media followers, with 27,000 coming from Instagram.

He has also worked with the NIL collective Florida Victorious, which launched in April as a for-profit entity.

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 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.