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Malachi Nelson Named HS Athlete of the Year at INFLCR NIL Summit

Erik-McKinneyby:Erik McKinney•06/04/23•

ErikTMcKinney

Malachi Nelson
USC quarterback Malachi Nelson (8) at spring football practice at Howard Jones/Brian Kennedy Fields (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

The second annual INFLCR NIL Summit began Saturday at the College Football Hall of Fame in Athens, Georgia. USC’s Malachi Nelson was honored as the High School Athlete of the Year.

The event unites athletes, agents, attorneys, brand representatives and guest speakers for three days of networking, panel discussions and awards that are focused on NIL.

According to the NIL Summit website, “The NIL Summit was born of the idea of giving student-athletes from across the nation a platform to converge on as a community of influencers and change agents, to share ideas and collaborate alongside the transformative brands and organizations shaping the future of college sports.”

Nelson starred as a quarterback at Los Alamitos High School and also made headlines off the field. He announced last June that he signed an NIL deal with the h.wood Group, a Los Angeles-based global hospitality firm. Nelson announced his NIL partnership with the group while appearing in a commercial for Slab Barbecue.

Nelson beat out a number of strong candidates in this category:

Nebraska women’s volleyball player Harper Murray
Stanford soccer players Alyssa and Gisele Thompson
Arizona women’s basketball player Jada Williams
Oklahoma women’s basketball player Sahara Williams.

Murray was the Gatorade National Player of the Year. The Thompson sisters were the first high school athletes to sign an NIL deal with Nike.

High School Athlete of the Year

Award description: This award recognizes male and female student-athletes that have exhibited the best use of their NIL on the high school level. Judges considered student-athletes that have best leveraged their NIL across multiple activations, platforms and campaigns to create maximum impact for their partners.

Malachi Nelson NIL

Nelson holds an On3 NIL Valuation of $813,000. He’s No. 26 in the College Football NIL Rank and No. 39 in the NIL 100.

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