Kentucky commits Jacob, Jerod Smith ink NIL car deals

Twin brothers Jacob Smith and Jerod Smith Jr. flipped their commitments from Michigan to Kentucky in September, delivering a major recruiting win for Mark Stoops.

Now the brothers have picked up their own win in the NIL space.

Two of the highest-ranked prospects coming out of the Bluegrass State in the 2024 class have inked NIL deals with a Kentucky-based auto group, signing lease agreements. It’s believed to be one of the first car deals executed at the high school level. It’s unclear which specific vehicles they received keys to, but the brothers will be driving around their cars for the length of the deals.

The deals were procured and executed by Chris Gil and Frank Yip of Optimal Sports Management.

Car deals have become extremely popular in the NIL Era. Former Texas running back Bijan Robinson had a deal last year with Lamborghini of Austin, while Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud had a G-Wagon. Many athletes have received the keys to vehicles in exchange for social media promotion. At Georgia, head coach Kirby Smart admitted NIL is a factor in the uptick in speeding tickets players have received.

Jacob Smith and Jerod Smith Jr. will now have their own cars as they prepare to enroll at Kentucky. Jacob holds a On3 NIL Valuation of $72,000. His brother, Jerod, has a $66,000 On3 NIL Valuation. Working together in the future, the twins will be able to market themselves to brands together.

Their agreement with Tim Short Auto Group is only a starting point.

Smith twins explain flip to Kentucky 

The twins were born in Lexington and began their high school careers at Somerset High in Kentucky. They played their sophomore and junior years at Connecticut’s Loomis Chaffee School. They’re now back in Kentucky at Corbin for their senior years.

Both four-star prospects in the 2024 class, Jerod is a defensive lineman while Jacob is an EDGE. They visited Kentucky twice in July — right before the dead period. The twins were back in Lexington for Kentucky’s home opener to kick off the season, too.

The Wildcats now rank No. 24 in the On3 Industry Team Rankings.

“The reason I chose Kentucky is because I wanted to play in the SEC and I wanna be able to be developed and play at the next level,” Jerod said of his flip to the Wildcats. “Playing in the SEC will ultimately better prepare me for the next step in making the NFL. Another reason was I wanna stay back home and play for my state. I wanna be able to play in front of my family. Another reason I chose Kentucky was my relationship with the staff. It felt more like family to me. Ultimately I felt that Kentucky was the best choice for me to get where I wanna be in life.”

Added Jacob: “I came home to my state and realized that I need to stay here, for the family and for the people.