Virginia QB Brennan Armstrong signs NIL deal with local McDonald's franchises

Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong has added a local partnership to his NIL portfolio.

Through Virginia’s collective, Cavalier Futures, Armstrong has signed on with a pair of McDonald’s franchises in Charlottesville and Shenandoah Valley. The collective set up the deal with partner RAHE, Inc, which owns the restaurants and is a partner of the alumni-driven group.

This is his first sponsorship in the NIL era. He did make an appearance during the bye week last season in a deal to celebrate the opening of BurgerFi in Charlottesville.

The McDonald’s deal calls for the quarterback to promote the fast-food chain on social media. Armstrong will also launch a celebrity meal similar to the Travis Scott “Cactus Jack Meal” released in 2020. No specifics on the meal have been announced yet.

“I am really grateful for this sponsorship opportunity. I am especially looking forward to visiting the Ronald McDonald House this year,” Armstrong said in a statement. “ It was important to me to incorporate community engagement into my first major NIL deal.” 

The former three-star quarterback will establish a relationship with Charlottesville’s Ronald McDonald House as part of the partnership through visits and family outreach events with its residents.

Armstrong had a career season this past fall, finishing with 4,444 yards passing and 40 total touchdowns. In just his second season as a starter, he led the Cavaliers to a 6-6 record and trip to the Fenway Bowl. With the option to leave for the NFL this past offseason, he decided to stay for a final year.

He’ll be working in a new offense, though. Virginia head coach Bronco Mendenhall opted to leave coaching after the season, and the Cavaliers hired Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott.

The quarterback is one of the top returning quarterbacks in college football this year. A strong season could put him in prime position for the 2023 NFL Draft.

“We were very intentional in how we went about this first NIL opportunity,” RAHE, Inc owner Rick Hendricks said in a press release. “We wanted to create an experience that would benefit the athlete and be fun for UVA fans. As a lifetime UVA football fan myself, it’s really exciting to partner with Brennan and we’re looking forward to working with him throughout the upcoming year.” 

Brennan Armstrong’s On3 NIL Valuation

Armstrong’s deal with McDonald’s could just be the start of a productive year in the NIL space.

Cracking the On3 NIL top 100, the quarterback sits at No. 95 with a valuation of $346,000. He is ranked No. 77 in On3’s college football NIL rankings, too. Armstrong has a total of 11,800 social media followers with a $306 per post valuation.

The Virginia star valuation is just starting to rise. He has seen a notable growth over the past 14 weeks, as his NIL potential has jumped $228,000 — over 190%.

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.