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The Flagship: Watkins an Ole Miss case study in affect of brand-specific deals on NIL

Ben Garrettby:Ben Garrett•06/20/24•

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Adidas earlier this month announced it had signed seven 2025 recruits to brand-specific NIL deals. 

Among them was four-star wide receiver Winston Watkins, Jr., a major Ole Miss football target. The Rebels, though, have a deal with Nike that runs through 2027.

Watkins, Jr., is ranked as the No. 178 overall player in the country, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. He’s the No. 22 wide receiver and the No. 25 prospect in Florida.

“This is the first time a Nike or Adidas or Under Armour has signed a high-school football player from what I can recall,” On3 NIL expert Pete Nakos said. He was stopping by the Ole Miss Spirit’s ‘Flagship’ podcast. “This past football season you had Michael Penix and Rome Odunze; Washington is an Adidas school. 

“These sorts of instances have really popped up a lot in basketball. Nike signed Bronny James when he was a junior in high school. They signed JuJu Watkins before she stepped foot at USC. Hailey Van Lith signed with Adidas but transfers to LSU, which is a Nike school. She still worked with Adidas. 

“In the small case study that we have seen, it hasn’t been a make-or-break in a recruitment.”

Watkins was joined in the inaugural adizero 7 Class by Five-Star Plus+ wide receiver Chris Henry, Jr., five-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson and four-star recruits Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, Madden Iamaleava, Vernell Brrown, III, and Madden Williams.

“Winston Watkins, who’s a huge Ole Miss target at the moment, I don’t think that really impacts where he goes,” Nakos said. “But Adidas went all-out for this. It’s going to be an interesting case study to see where this group of athletes land. 

“How many go to an Adidas school?”

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