Dual-sport superstar Rodrick Pleasant joins Prospex

Four-star cornerback Rodrick Pleasant has signed on to be in the first wave of recruits to have a trading card through Prospex.

Pleasant, a star football player and track athlete, said this will be his first NIL deal. He has been wary to sign a deal with the worry of jeopardizing his eligibility but he feels confident about his deal with Prospex.

“It’s very scary about NIL right now, you don’t know how to approach it or what how to go along with it. This felt like a very reasonable entryway to start by,” Pleasant said.

Prospex’s NIL platform connects fans and players through the digital sale of a playing card. Players will name up to 10 possible programs, and fans will be able to buy a card of a player and that team

When a player makes a decision and enrolls at their chosen school, fans will receive either a physical or web3 collectable version of the card. Players receive 85% of the sales revenues from the cards sold to fans of the program they decided to enroll in and attend.

For fans who invested in cards of teams that a player does not choose in their recruiting process, they can turn in that card and will receive 90% of their money back.

Pleasant currently has trading cards for Boston College, Penn State, USC, Oregon, Michigan, and Cal for sale.

“The thing that is most exciting for us is what our vision is, which is empowering athletes and fans to own the NIL space in a way that that serves a real need,” Prospex co-founder Patricia Eiting said. “The idea is that it’s this fun and engaging platform that helps athletes determine which schools are really going to step up and support them.”

Pleasant is the No. 90 overall recruit and No. 8 cornerback in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

He is also a top track recruit in the country. During the CIL Southern Section Masters Meet in May, Pleasant broke the California state record in the 100 meters. He ran a wind-legal 10.14, topping his previous best of a wind-aided 10.16.

Pleasant also won the 200 meter race that day in 20.49 seconds.

He released a top six over the summer of Boston College, California, Oregon, Penn State, UCLA and USC. He said all six of those schools are still in the race with Michigan State also entering the mix.

No matter which school he ends up attending, Pleasant has a list of five goals he hopes to accomplish. He wants to win a national championship, win the Jim Thorpe Award, win the NCAA championship in the 100 meters, earn his degree and be a good teammate.

“I’m gonna give them everything that I have for the three to four years that I’m there,” Pleasant said. “I will give them everything I have.”