Nike signed East Lincoln tight end Jaxon Dollar to a name, image and likeness (NIL) deal on July 16, one of 19 prep and college football players the company added to its roster that day. Dollar has not played a college snap. He committed to Georgia in April and locked up a global shoe deal three months later.
The deal’s financial terms are not public. Nike’s pattern here goes back to 2022, when it signed its first high school athletes, wagering early on names it hopes will still carry the Swoosh a decade from now.
Nike Adds a Georgia Commit to Football’s Deepest Roster
Nike’s newsroom said the company signed 11 high school football players and eight college athletes to NIL contracts on July 16, the biggest single group of prep signees the brand has disclosed at once. Dollar was the lone Georgia commit among the prep group, selected alongside players bound for Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Texas and Oklahoma.
The new signees join a roster that already includes six active Super Bowl champions, 19 All-Pros and 28 Pro Bowl players, according to Nike’s own newsroom release. Retired greats Jerry Rice and Barry Sanders showed up at the athletes’ showcase in Oregon to offer advice from their own Hall of Fame careers, per the same release.
Nike’s football roster has always been defined by the athletes who are shaping where the game goes next. These signings reflect our commitment to serving the best football talent at every level with the support, innovation and partnership they need to reach their full potential on the field and away from the game.
Ann Miller, Nike Global Sports Marketing’s executive vice president, said in the company’s release.
How the Opening Finals Picked Its Newest Class
Dollar earned his deal the same way the other ten prep signees did. Nike picked him out of The Opening, an invite-only combine style circuit the company brought back this year after a long run on the shelf.
The tour ran seven regional stops starting in January in Miami, ahead of the College Football Playoff title game, then moved through Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Atlanta, New Orleans, New York and Dallas. Roughly 100 athletes at each stop ran 40 yard dashes, shuttle runs and position drills in front of Nike coaches.
- Seven regional stops tested about 100 athletes apiece on sprints, shuttles and position specific drills.
- The top performers from each region, 120 in all, advanced to The Opening Finals.
- Finalists spent three days, June 24 through 26, competing at Nike’s Philip H. Knight Campus in Beaverton, Oregon.
- Nike picked its newest NIL signees out of that finals field based on standout performances, Dollar among them.
Since the program launched in 2011, 428 alumni have been drafted into the NFL, including 95 first round picks. Saquon Barkley, Ja’Marr Chase, Derrick Henry and Patrick Surtain II all came up through the same circuit before turning pro.
Georgia’s Recruiting Pitch Gets a Nike Assist
Dollar signed with Nike three months after he picked Georgia over Clemson, Miami, Notre Dame and Texas. Andrew Ivins, 247Sports’ director of scouting, called him one of the best players in the class at the time, full stop. Rivals rates Dollar the No. 19 overall prospect in the 2027 class and the No. 2 tight end nationally, while 247Sports has him lower overall, No. 32, but agrees on the position ranking.
Georgia’s 2027 class still sits outside the sport’s national top 10, even after Dollar’s commitment, according to Georgia recruiting coverage. Head coach Kirby Smart has stuck to a public stance of not paying for recruits, wanting players to earn NIL money once they arrive on campus and produce on the field.
Six current Bulldogs signed their own, separate Nike NIL deals that same week: wide receiver Talyn Taylor, tight ends Elyiss Williams and Kaiden Prothro, linebacker Chris Cole, and defensive backs KJ Bolden and Ellis Robinson, according to Georgia recruiting reporting. None of those terms were disclosed either.
Nike’s decision to sign Dollar before he ever wears a Georgia uniform hands Smart a recruiting argument he did not have to write himself: proof that committing to Athens and performing can produce a Nike contract before a player even enrolls.
The Signing Class Spans Eight States
Dollar’s ten fellow prep signees play for programs spread across at least eight states, from North Carolina to California, and cover nearly every position on the field, per Nike’s release. Some arrive with a college commitment already locked in. Others, mostly from the 2028 class, are still deciding.
| Prospect | Position | High School (State) | College Commitment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jaxon Dollar | Tight End | East Lincoln (N.C.) | Georgia |
| Elijah Haven | Quarterback | The Durham School (La.) | Alabama |
| Peyton Houston | Quarterback | Evangel Christian (La.) | LSU |
| Myson Johnson-Cook | Running Back | East St. Louis (Ill.) | Auburn |
| Neimann Lawrence | Quarterback | American Heritage (Fla.) | Texas |
| Gabriel Osborne Jr. | Cornerback | Mustang (Okla.) | Oklahoma |
The eight college signees round out the same announcement: Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, Texas receiver Cam Coleman, Vanderbilt quarterback Jared Curtis, LSU tight end Trey’Dez Green, Ohio State receiver Chris Henry Jr., Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy, Oregon quarterback Dante Moore and Texas edge rusher Colin Simmons.
A Decade-Long Wager, Placed Early
Nike did not build this approach overnight. The company signed its first high school NIL athletes, soccer standouts Alyssa and Gisele Thompson, in May 2022, before either had played a minute of college soccer, according to a Business of College Sports tally of Nike’s NIL history. Its first football deal followed the next year, when it signed Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
That early bet setup is the same one running under Dollar’s deal now. Most of the 11 new prep signees will not play a college snap for another year or more, and some, like Dollar, are still two years from an NFL draft class even existing for them. Nike’s wager is that a few follow the arc of Barkley, Henry, Kyler Murray and Chase, each an Opening alumnus who kept wearing the brand well into pro stardom.
How Much Is Jaxon Dollar’s Nike Deal Worth?
Nike has not disclosed a dollar figure for Dollar’s contract or any of the 18 other deals announced July 16. High school NIL money nationally tends to run far behind college figures. In Georgia, regulators say most prep deals amount to free gear or modest sponsorships rather than real money, though Dollar’s own high school competes in North Carolina, a separate state with its own rules.
What We Know
- Nike announced 11 high school and eight college signings on July 16, its biggest disclosed prep class at once.
- Dollar was picked after his performance at The Opening Finals in June.
- Six current Georgia players signed separate Nike NIL deals the same week.
What’s Unconfirmed
- Dollar’s deal terms, and every other signee’s, remain private.
- How long the contracts run, or what happens if a signee later changes his college commitment.
- Whether prep level deals like this one interact at all with the $20.5 million cap schools can share directly with athletes once these players actually enroll.
The regulatory picture underneath all of it is still being written. In Georgia, lawmakers advanced House Bill 383, the Georgia High School NIL Protection Act, which would let prep athletes sign endorsement deals that automatically end at graduation. Supporters call it a guardrail on a system that already exists. Critics, including some state lawmakers, worry about putting real money in front of minors and their families for the first time.
Ohio moved the opposite direction. Two Republican state representatives introduced a bill to ban NIL deals for middle and high school athletes entirely, arguing school time should be about learning, not earning. More than 40 states now allow some form of high school NIL, according to reporting on the broader debate, and the patchwork means a deal legal for one player can create eligibility trouble for another a few states over.
Dollar’s senior season at East Lincoln opens this fall. He caught 54 passes for 1,190 yards and 20 touchdowns as a junior, helping the team to 10 wins, and averaged a double-double on the basketball court with 21 points and 10.3 rebounds a game. Georgia’s 2027 class still sits outside the national top 10. It now includes a Nike athlete at tight end who has yet to catch a single pass in Athens.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is Nike’s The Opening Showcase?
The Opening is an invite only combine style circuit Nike first launched in 2011 and revived this year after several years off. It runs regional stops across the country before narrowing to 120 finalists who compete at Nike’s Philip H. Knight Campus in Beaverton, Oregon, with a chance at an NIL deal and exposure to Power Four coaching staffs.
How Much Money Do High School NIL Deals Typically Pay?
Most high school NIL deals are modest. Georgia’s high school association has said roughly 100 athletes statewide currently hold NIL deals, and most involve free gear or small endorsements rather than significant cash, a scale well below what major college athletes or Nike’s own headline signees are believed to command.
Which College Football Players Signed Nike NIL Deals in July 2026?
Eight college players joined Nike’s roster alongside the prep class: Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, Texas receiver Cam Coleman, Vanderbilt quarterback Jared Curtis, LSU tight end Trey’Dez Green, Ohio State receiver Chris Henry Jr., Ole Miss running back Kewan Lacy, Oregon quarterback Dante Moore and Texas edge rusher Colin Simmons.
How Many States Allow High School Athletes to Sign NIL Deals?
More than 40 states plus Washington, D.C. now permit some form of high school NIL, though the specific rules, from contract length to disclosure requirements, vary widely from state to state and remain unsettled in several legislatures, including Georgia’s and Ohio’s.
