Ohio State QB commit Tavien St. Clair inks multi-year NIL deal with Panini America
Just before National Signing Day, Ohio State QB commit Tavien St. Clair inked his first multi-year NIL deal. The Five Star Plus+ prospect is joining forces with Panini America.
An Ohio native, St. Clair wasn’t able to sign NIL deals during his career at Bellefontaine, located an hour from Columbus. The Ohio High School Athletic Association doesn’t allow athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness.
The Early Signing Period starts on Wednesday, and St. Clair is expected to sign with Ohio State. When he does, he’ll have his first NIL deal in his portfolio, as well.
“As I enter the next phase of my football life, I’m excited to partner with a leader in the trading card space like Panini,” St. Clair said in a statement. “Growing up you dream of having your own Panini trading card – to actually have that happening and use it as another way to be connected with Ohio State fans is incredible.”
As a Five Star Plus+ recruit, St. Clair is one of the only players ranked by all four major recruiting media companies as a five star. He’s the No. 3 overall player and No. 2-ranked quarterback from the 2025 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
“Tavien is a very dynamic player, and we’re excited to see what he will do at the collegiate level for Ohio State,” said Jason Howarth, Panini America Senior Vice President of Marketing and Athlete Relations. “We are excited about the opportunity to work with Tavien as he starts his collegiate career and we can’t wait to offer fans products featuring Tavien.”
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Tavien St. Clair has major NIL potential
Committed to Ohio State since June 2023, St. Clair visited Ohio State ahead of a high-profile matchup against Indiana. He appeared on FOX Big Noon Kickoff, holding a No. 4 jersey and hitting an O-H-I-O in front of the camera.
St. Clair is also one of the highest-profile recruits in the country and could be primed for NIL success when he arrives in Columbus this spring. He has an On3 NIL Valuation of $1 million, which ranks No. 4 in the high school football NIL rankings. That figure also puts him at No. 70 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.
“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.