Notre Dame QB commit Deuce Knight signs historic NIL deal with Leaf Trading Cards

Deuce Knight has made history in the state of Mississippi.

The Notre Dame quarterback commit and a top-30 prospect in the 2025 cycle signed his first-ever NIL deal, becoming one of the first high schoolers in Mississippi to ink an endorsement agreement. Since the NCAA moved to allow NIL at the collegiate level in the summer of 2021, some states and state associations are allowing high schoolers to monetize their name, image and likeness.

Mississippi has long been a holdout, but that’s changed with the state updating its law to allow high schoolers to profit from NIL. Knight, who attends Lucedale (Mississippi) George County, is taking advantage before the start of his senior season.

The nation’s No. 4 quarterback in the 2025 class, according to On3, has inked a multi-year, exclusive deal with Leaf Trading Cards. Full details of the agreement were not shared, however, the compensation has been described as “life-changing.”

“I didn’t think it was going to happen in Mississippi,” Knight told On3 in a recent phone call. “I really didn’t think they were going to pass this law. I thought it would eventually come, my coach said it was going to come, but I didn’t think it would happen when I was still in high school. It’s big for me and the athletes in this state.”

A three-time state champion in track and field and an above-the-rim basketball player, the 6-foot-4.5, 208-pound quarterback is viewed as one of the top high school football prospects in the nation. On3’s Director of Scouting and Rankings Charles Power recently wrote Knight, “would register as a top tier NFL athlete right now.”

Now Deuce Knight has inked a major NIL deal. He becomes the latest to sign with the trading card company, joining USC quarterback commit Julian Lewis, Florida quarterback DJ Lagway and Tennessee quarterback commit George MacIntyre.

Since the inception of NIL in college sports in the summer of 2021, the race has been on for trading card brands to sign top high school recruits.

“One of the most fun things for us is seeing that we can really help a lot of these families before they’re able to get the big money,” Leaf’s president Josh Pankow said. “The reality is, most of these kids are probably going to make big money at some point but to be able to help the families when, quite frankly, they probably need it the most. We’re not running a charity, but it’s really nice to be able to help these families early on.”

Deuce Knight calls for more states to allow NIL at HS level

Committed to Notre Dame since this past September, Deuce Knight was named On3’s MVP of the Elite 11 Finals. Now that he’s signed his first NIL deal with Mississippi changing its law, the top prospect hopes more states allow high schoolers to profit.

“I’m excited about my new partnership with Leaf, but what I really want is to ask other states who don’t allow NIL for high school athletes yet to consider changing with the times and being like Mississippi and all the other states who now allow it,” he said. “Like some of my friends are great players and great people and they deserve NIL deals but aren’t allowed to do them just because they live in Texas, North Carolina or Ohio.

“I feel like this is America and if companies want to pay people to endorse their brand or sign autographs or whatever it may be they should be able to no matter where they live, including if they’re international like my boy Will Black, who’s Canadian.”

Black is the nation’s No. 2 overall recruit and top-ranked offensive tackle. Knight and Black anchor a Notre Dame recruiting class that sits at No. 8 in the On3 2025 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings.

Growing On3 NIL Valuation

Deuce Knight holds an On3 NIL Valuation of $609,000, which sits at No. 12 in the high school NIL rankings. His valuation is also No. 88 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. 

With more than 25,000 social media followers and the Notre Dame brand behind him, his deal with Leaf is just a starting point.

“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.

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