Ohio State quarterback Quinn Ewers has signed a name, image and likeness deal with GT Sports Marketing for $1.4 million, a source told ESPN on Tuesday.
The contract with GT Sports Marketing is for three years and is in exchange for autographs. The deal, according to a source, was negotiated by Ewers’ agents at Sportstars and Rubicon, and is Ewers’ third NIL deal overall.
Ewers is cashing in on the new opportunities that have emerged with NIL deals being granted to college athletes only a few months ago. Once the ruling was passed, Ewers, who was the No. 1 ranked prospect in the 2022 class, decided to skip his senior season, reclassify to the 2021 class and enroll early at Ohio State. He joined the team in August.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Ewers had offers from nearly every major program in the country. He was originally supposed to stay at Carroll High School (Southlake, Texas) until January, but Texas is one of just three states that have a law prohibiting high school athletes from profiting off NIL.
Illinois and Mississippi are the other two states that prohibit high school athletes from profiting off NIL.
Ewers had initially committed to the Longhorns, but decommitted in October 2020.
What is NIL? The NIL law allows intercollegiate athletes to earn compensation for the use of her or his name, image and likeness, and prohibits post-secondary institutions from preventing athletes from earning money or goods. The schools themselves can’t compensate athletes for their name, image or likeness.