Five-star OL Josh Petty lands multi-million dollar NIL deal package with Georgia Tech

Josh Petty was not looking for the largest financial package when making his college decision, but he needed the number to be “fair.” 

The five-star offensive lineman committed to Georgia Tech on Monday, picking the Yellow Jackets over Ohio State, Florida State, Tennessee and Stanford.

On3 learned Georgia Tech and Petty agreed to terms of a three-year Roster Value deal with an annual payment of at least $800,000. A source at Florida State, which lost out on Petty, told On3 that the offensive lineman “did not” turn the final weeks of his recruitment into a bidding war.

“Tech’s been very easy,” Petty told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday when asked about NIL. “Tech’s been very cooperative and efficient with working on that. I needed that number to be fair. Tech went beyond and above and really have taken care of me.”

Josh Petty driven to Georgia Tech by education, Brent Key

For some programs, landing a player of Josh Petty’s caliber would have strictly come down to the highest NIL offer. Georgia Tech coach Brent Key’s pitch mixed with educational opportunities at Georgia Tech won out, his father James Petty told On3.

The NIL foundation offered was not overlooked, either. 

“The time that we spent there meeting the professors and talking about what he wanted to study was phenomenal,” the elder Petty said in a phone call Tuesday. “The coaching staff, they’re incredible. There’s a lot of energy. 

“And then the other piece that is very exciting, is that my son and other athletes have an opportunity to put together a financial foundation that will allow them to transition in life and be able to address some of the issues of affordability.”

Georgia Tech meets market value for elite 2025 offensive tackle

Believed to be one of the most lucrative deals ever executed by Georgia Tech in the NIL Era, the move comes a year before revenue sharing is expected to begin. 

Sources across the country have told On3 that programs have offered higher packages this cycle because of the pending House settlement, allowing schools to share $20 to $22 million in revenue annually. Petty will enroll at Georgia Tech at the mid-year mark, months before revenue sharing is expected to begin. It’s unclear if those dollars are factored into his deal.

While the 6-foot-4, 255-pound offensive lineman’s NIL package might sound jaw-dropping, it does not reset the market but rather matches it. Five-star offensive tackles David Sanders and Michael Fasusi have yet to announce commitments and are expected to command seven-figure agreements, sources have told On3. 

Next to quarterback and EDGE, offensive tackle is viewed by many NIL collectives and personnel staffers as one of the most valuable positions in college football. Sources have indicated to On3 that multiple top-ranked offensive tackles in recent recruiting classes have landed seven-figure packages. 

James Petty admitted that leveraging a multi-million dollar financial package took connections the Pettys did not have. The family leaned on Brian Davis, who owns the marketing agency Power Up Sports. 

“We don’t know the NIL space,” James Petty said. “We don’t know what’s decent. We have to trust people like Brian [Davis], who did a fantastic job of helping us understand these things. We don’t have a crystal ball into what a kid gets if they go play at Texas. Or what does a kid get if they go play for USC, right?”

“… NIL has changed this world tremendously. But if you go on this journey, and accept this without having the information, it could drastically be different. It [NIL] has changed the landscape. It has changed how people look at it – it’s changed the opportunity for young men.”