Texas quarterback Arch Manning inks first NIL deal in multi-year partnership with Panini

Arch Manning has inked his first NIL deal.

The Texas quarterback and former Five-Star Plus+ recruit has signed a multi-year agreement with Panini America. The grandson of Archie, son of Cooper, and nephew of Peyton and Eli was the top-ranked prospect in the 2022 recruiting class.

He is now making his first move in NIL. The deal comes before Manning has started his first game for the Longhorns. The partnership calls for Panini to create trading cards featuring Manning, along with exclusive autographs from the quarterback.

The No. 1 quarterback in the 2022 cycle will be included in future NIL trading cards from Panini, while also working with the brand to create his own cards.

The first card is a one-of-one Prizm black autographed card that was auctioned on Panini’s website and ran until Saturday. In total, the card received 36 bids and went for $102,500.

All proceeds from the sale will go to a Central Texas nonprofit with the help of St. David’s HealthCare and St. David’s Foundation. The winner of the auction will get a meet and greet with Manning, while also catching passes from the quarterback. Plus, they can participate in the check presentation to the nonprofits.

“Getting my first Panini trading card is something I couldn’t have imagined growing up,” Manning said in a statement. “Working with Panini to have my first trading card benefit the larger community is special. Helping children live healthy and fulfilling lives is something that has always been important to my family.”

Arch Manning joins long list of Panini athletes

Arch Manning had one of the most-followed recruitments in college football history, picking the Longhorns over Georgia and Alabama. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian previously stated Manning was not planning to sign an NIL deal until he was the program’s starting quarterback.

That timeline has obviously been changed.

Manning is still just months into his college career. Quinn Ewers will start this season for Texas, while the 6-foot-4, 215-pound freshman takes in his first season in Austin. The talent is obviously there; Manning finished this spring’s Orange-White game 5 of 13, facing constant pressure from the Texas front seven. 

He can begin to profit off his name, however, with his new relationship with Panini. The trading card company is already a partner of the Manning Passing Academy. And Arch Manning joins a list of Panini American athletes which includes Charles Barkley, David Beckham, Christian Pulisic and Ewers.

“Arch Manning is an outstanding addition to the Panini family, and we are proud to serve as his first and only NIL partner,” Panini America’s senior vice president of athlete relations Jason Howarth said. “We couldn’t be more pleased that our first activity together will go toward such a worthy cause. We look forward to working with Arch on many other exciting initiatives in the years to come.”

Arch Manning’s On3 NIL Valuation

The quarterback has a $2.8 million On3 NIL Valuation, which ranks No. 3 in the On3 NIL 100, which is the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation. It is also the top-ranked On3 NIL Valuation in college football.

With more than 260,000 social media followers, Arch Manning is only getting started in NIL. He also has the option to partner with his superstar uncles in NIL ventures. Eli and Peyton run Omaha Productions together and the Monday Night Football Manningcast runs multiple times throughout the NFL season.

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.