Skip to main content
Join Now

Florida QB DJ Lagway inks NIL deal with Nintendo, Epic Games

ns_headshot_2024-clearby:Nick Schultz•01/31/25•

NickSchultz_7

Florida QB DJ Lagway vs. Georgia
© Melina Myers-Imagn Images

After taking over for Graham Mertz as a true freshman, DJ Lagway showed flashes of a bright future at Florida. He’s now in line to open the 2025 season as the starter – and he’s capitalizing in the NIL space.

Lagway signed an NIL deal with Nintendo and Epic Games, he announced via social media. It’s the latest venture for the former Five Star Plus+ recruit, who has a $3.7 million On3 NIL Valuation.

Lagway is the latest college football standout to joins Nintendo and Epic Games’ roster of athletes. Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith signed with the companies ahead of the College Football Playoff national championship, and Alabama star Ryan Williams also announced a partnership this offseason.

Lagway began the 2024 season as Mertz’s backup at UF, but a season-ending injury paved the way for the true freshman to start. He appeared in 12 games, throwing for 1,915 yards and 12 touchdowns while adding 101 rushing yards. As he gets ready for Year 2, Lagway continues to generate buzz, and On3’s Ari Wasserman ranked him as one of the top three returning players in 2025.

“Do you have to be a third-year veteran with a bunch of stats to be on this list or can you just have eyeballs? I don’t know,” Wasserman said on Andy & Ari On3. “I actually wear contacts, but I think I’ve got pretty good, functioning eyes. Have you watched this guy play for five minutes? That’s all I need.”

DJ Lagway’s On3 NIL Valuation

As a freshman, DJ Lagway signed NIL deals with the UF-focused NIL collective, Florida Victorious, in addition to his agreements with Gatorade and Leaf Trading Cards. All the while, his On3 NIL Valuation surged.

Lagway’s $3.7 million On3 NIL Valuation ranks among the top in college athletics. He sits at No. 4 in the college football NIL rankings and No. 7 in the On3 NIL 100, the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.

“Despite what some fans and media believe, there is not an unlimited amount of money being deployed to manage rosters,” said Shannon Terry, the founder and CEO of On3. “Any model – whether it’s today’s broken NCAA ‘student-athlete’ construct or media rights sharing through employment, which is almost a certainty in the near future – demands efficiency based on the athlete and school knowing the athlete’s respective market value.”

The On3 NIL Valuation is calculated by combining Roster Value and personal NIL. 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. NIL in an athlete’s name, image and likeness and the value it could bring to regional and national brands outside of the scope of NIL collectives.

About On3 NIL Valuation, Brand Value, Roster Value