When the NCAA opened the doors for athletes to profit off of their name, image and likeness on June 30 it was inevitable that the domino effect would reach the high school level.
It's no surprise that one prominent athlete from San Diego will end up among the first to benefit from the new rules.
Mikey Williams has signed with Excel Sports Management as the agency's first NIL client, and according to ESPN, he is the first high school basketball player to land representation in pursuit of endorsement deals.
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Excel wrote in their announcement of the partnership: "We will work with Mikey to continue to develop his personal brand and build an endorsement and partnership portfolio that is authentic to who he is and what he stands for He is truly a unique talent primed to take advantage of the rapidly evolving athlete endorsement space and we know the future is bright for him!"
NBC 7 has reached out to Excel for more information on what this means for the basketball star.
Excel works with a number of well known athletes, including Tiger Woods as well as Helix High grad and recently retired NFL quarterback Alex Smith.
Williams grew up in San Diego and played his freshman season at San Ysidro before transferring to Lake Norman Christian in North Carolina. He will play his junior season for Vertical Academy while continuing his education at Lake Norman.
Aside from being an explosive talent, ranked as one of the top-10 players in the class of 2023, Williams has an enormous social media following. When NBC 7 profiled the then-15-year-old prior to his freshman season, Williams had over one million followers on Instagram. That number is now over three million, with north of five million spread across his social media channels.
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The NCAA's adaptation of NIL policies allowed for prep athletes to capitalize on earning opportunities as well without jeopardizing their eligibility, as long as state laws and high school athletic associations don't have rules prohibiting such deals.
According to 247 Sports the CIF allows its athletes to profit off of their name, image and likeness but may not use their school's name or logo in doing so.
