South Carolina signee Nyckoles Harbor inks NIL deal with Hugo Boss

Nyckoles Harbor has yet to enroll at South Carolina.

He has had no problem finding NIL deals, though. The five-star athlete in the class of 2023 was one of the last available names in his recruiting class. The day before his commitment to the Gamecocks on February’s National Signing Day, he announced a partnership with Champs Sports. The sportswear brand would be going behind-the-scenes with Harbor for the day.

Now a South Carolina signee, he has inked an endorsement deal for his senior Prom. The No. 21 prospect in the country has signed an agreement with the fashion brand Hugo Boss, he announced Wednesday on his Instagram.

Dressed up in a tuxedo from the brand for his dance, Harbor shared a number of pictures and released a video promoting the company. The fashion label recently launched its first NFL collection and now has signed what appears to be its first NIL deal.

“Thankful to partner with such an iconic brand for my special day,” he wrote in his Instagram post. “Are you ready to play like a Boss?”

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Because Washington, D.C., allows high schoolers to monetize their publicity rights, Harbor has been able to start producing revenue off his NIL before enrolling at South Carolina. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound prospect will probably be spending most of his time at wide receiver.

As skilled as he is on the football field, Harbor has excelled in track. Back in August, he ran a 10.22-second 100-meter time and a 20.95-second 200-meter time. He was also recorded with a 6.70-second 60-meter time in February. His future as a track star weighed into his recruitment.

Why Nyckoles Harbor’s commitment to South Carolina was noteworthy

Harbor made his announcement on National Signing Day back in February on ESPN. It was the premier commitment of the day and many observers across the country kept tabs on his decision.

Oregon received his final visit, but home-state school Maryland stayed in the conversation the entire time. Michigan was never ruled out yet, as well as Miami. He tabbed the Gamecocks, however, who finished with the No. 16 overall class in On3’s 2023 Industry team recruiting rankings.

“When you have a player the caliber of Nyckoles that’s ranked as high as he is, but then he decides on national television where the whole is country is watching — and the number of schools we beat out for Nyckoles when he decided to become a Gamecock — that just, it resonated with a lot of people,” South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer told On3’s J.D. PicKell in February. “And most importantly it resonated with other high school prospects that saw that. The minute that Nyck committed, I got a ton of 2024 kids that are texting my phone, excited about it as well and the statement we made when Nyck signed with us.”

Rising On3 NIL Valuation

Part of Nyckoles Harbor’s success in striking relationships with brands early in his NIL career is his notable social media following. The five-star recruit has 70,000 followers across Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Once he arrives on campus at South Carolina and starts playing in games, his following will continue to grow.

He also has a $313,000 On3 NIL Valuation, which ranks in the top 25 of On3’s high school football NIL rankings. His valuation has seen a small uptick of $8,500 in the past 10 weeks.

The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. A proprietary algorithm, the On3 NIL Valuation calculates an athlete’s NIL value using dynamic data points targeting three primary categories: performance, influence and exposure.

About On3 NIL Valuation, Brand Value, Roster Value

While the algorithm includes deal data, it does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals athletes have completed to date, nor does it set an athlete’s NIL valuation for their entire career. The On3 NIL Valuation calculates the optimized NIL opportunity for athletes relative to the overall NIL market and projects out to as long as 12 months into the future.