Sources: Five-Star Plus+ QB Arch Manning will wait on NIL deals

Even though he has the highest On3 NIL Valuation in high school football, sources say Five-Star Plus+ quarterback Arch Manning does not plan on doing any NIL deals until after he makes his commitment.

Sources tell On3 that Manning – the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2023 out of New Orleans (La.) Isidore Newman – isn’t going to engage in NIL activities at this point because he “doesn’t want to tarnish the brand.” Sources also say Manning “doesn’t want it to look like he was induced.”

The battle to land Arch Manning is one of the biggest recruiting storylines we’ve seen in recent history. According to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, Texas has the best shot at landing him at 46.8%. Georgia is listed second at 40.1%. Alabama is listed third at 11.2%, but recent intel indicates that the Crimson Tide is still considered a threat in Manning’s recruitment.

Arch Manning recently opened up about some of the teams on his list, including UGA. Manning told On3 Texas, Alabama and Georgia are all under consideration, and he’s planning visits to see both LSU and Florida.

“I’m trying to get there,” Manning told On3. “I want to get through this spring with this new offense and new coaches (at Newman), so after spring I’m gonna see about the official visits.”

About the On3 NIL Valuation

Arch Manning also has the highest NIL value of any football prospect in the country, currently listed at $3.1 million in the On3 NIL Valuation. He also ranks as the No. 3 player overall in the On3 NIL 100.

The On3 NIL Valuation is an index that looks to set the standard market value for both high school and college-level athletes. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

The On3 NIL 100 is the first of its kind and the defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by market valuation.

‘NIL won’t be a key influencer’ for Arch Manning

Arch Manning is the scion of one of America’s top sporting families. Manning is the son of Cooper Manning, the nephew of Peyton and Eli, and the grandson of Archie. Throughout the recruiting process, the Manning family has stressed about doing things “the right way.” And that includes removing NIL from being a significant part of the decision-making process.

Cooper Manning said the Name, Image and Likeness discussion dominating recruiting will not be a key influencer on his son’s decision.

“That, more than anything, will be us going back to the old school way,” Cooper Manning told DawgNation. “Certainly, evaluating things on the merits of each school well before anything like NIL ever existed.”

Recently, Archie Manning compared the NIL’s impact on college football to the Wild West.

“Can’t say I’m crazy about it,” Archie Manning said. “I understand it’s there. I wish they were a little more uniform in nature throughout the school. It’s like the wild, Wild West. I do know I love the game of college football and I don’t want it ruined.”

When the time is right, Arch Manning will be able to profit off his NIL because of a recent decision by the Louisiana High School Athletic Association.

Louisiana joined a handful of other state high school athletic associations — Alaska, California, Kansas, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York and Utah —  that allow their student-athletes to participate in NIL without jeopardizing their high school eligibility.

“I don’t think the Manning family is going to rush into any kind of deal because of this change,” one NIL observer told On3 after the decision by the LHSAA. “But I think this can certainly strengthen his leverage if Arch Manning wants to do something before he moves on to college.”