Alyssa, Gisele Thompson are 1st high-school stars to sign Nike NIL deals

Nike has made its first NIL deal with high school athletes. Sisters and soccer stars Alyssa and Gisele Thompson are the recipients of the deal. Reportedly, this is a multi-year contract that will include financial compensation. However, no other details are currently available.

The sisters currently attend Harvard-Westlake High School in Los Angeles. Alyssa is a junior, while Gisele is still only a sophomore. The pair are standout stars, competing as a part of the United States Women’s National Team development program. Alyssa competed in the U20 CONCACAF, with Gisele competing on the U-17 team. They are also both committed to playing soccer together at Stanford.

This NIL deal isn’t the first one that Nike has made with a women’s soccer star. UCLA sophomore Reilyn Turner was the first college athlete who it made a deal with. However, the company has been incredibly selective overall.

The two sisters are represented by Evan Sroka, who works for A&V Sports. The sisters are committed to playing soccer together at Stanford.

Sisters, Nike deals with different rules for HS athletes

Every state has its own unique NIL laws athletes and administrators must navigate. That extends to high school athletes, where the rules surrounding NIL are much less clear. Both sisters, still being in high school, need to follow different rules than they will once they get to Stanford. They’re also lucky that they live in California, which is one of only eight states where they can definitely take advantage of NIL.

Still, the NIL laws are stricter for high schoolers. For instance, they won’t be able to wear any Harvard-Westlake gear in any promotional work that they do.

Nike and the sisters need to be aware of the exact details around the law to have this NIL deal and maintain their eligibility going forward. School officials have met with the sisters to make sure that everything is done properly.