Florida QB DJ Lagway signs NIL deal with Mercedes-Benz of Gainesville

Fresh off a huge upset win over Texas, DJ Lagway has landed another notable NIL deal. The Florida sophomore QB signed a partnership with Mercedes-Benz of Gainesville, he announced via Instagram.

Mercedes-Benz of Gainesville has been active in the NIL space over the years. Lagway is the latest Florida quarterback to sign with the dealership, following Graham Mertz a year ago. He has a $1.9 million On3 NIL Valuation.

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Lagway is coming off a huge performance in last week’s victory over then-No. 9 Texas. He went 21 of 28 for 298 yards and two touchdowns as Florida came away with the 29-21 victory over Arch Manning and the Longhorns at The Swamp.

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Mercedes-Benz of Gainesville is the latest notable NIL venture for Lagway, who added to his impressive portfolio of deals this offseason. Repped by The Network Advisory, he also landed partnerships with Gatorade, Nintendo, Chipotle and Epic Games, as well as Leaf Trading Cards and the Florida-focused NIL collective, Florida Victorious. He also launched the Lagway Foundation in partnership with UF Health earlier this year.

In the lead-up to the 2025 season, Lagway further cashed in on the NIL front. He was part of Beats by Dre’s “Beats Elite” class last week and gifted headphones to his teammates through the deal. He also signed a deal with T-Mobile as part of the brand’s Friday Night 5G Lights program and filmed a commercial alongside Patrick Mahomes and Rob Gronkowski.

Additionally, Lagway added a partnership with Jordan Brand. Because Florida is a Jordan Brand school, he can rep the brand during games as one of its NIL ambassadors.

At $1.9 million, Lagway’s On3 NIL Valuation ranks No. 19 in college football this season. It also puts him at No. 25 in the On3 NIL 100, the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.

Last week’s game against Texas was DJ Lagway’s best statistical game of the year. Through six games, he is completing 68.9% of his passes for 988 yards and seven touchdowns.

“He works like no one else,” Florida coach Billy Napier said. “For him, this experience is something I keep talking to him about. I tell him, ‘Look, you’re going to be playing this game for a long time, and there are going to be days like this, weeks like this.’ Playing in this league or the next one – every team is a good team. You’re going to have bad days, and you’ve got to have an identity independent of the game.

“That’s where his faith comes in. He can stand on that. Maybe someone else who doesn’t have that foundation would struggle, but he has it – and that’s what makes him really unique.”