Five-star 2025 QB Julian 'Juju' Lewis signs NIL deal with Alo Yoga
Julian ‘Juju’ Lewis is continuing to build out his NIL brand.
The five-star recruit in the class of 2025 and USC commit is viewed by some as a generational quarterback talent. He’s also become one of the first true NIL high school stars. The No. 9 overall prospect in the class waited on the Georgia High School Athletic Association to permit athletes to leverage their NIL.
Since the GHSA made its move this past fall, Lewis has not wasted any time signing deals with national brands. He’s now inked an agreement with Alo Yoga, becoming the company’s first high school athlete. The quarterback joins college stars J.J. McCarthy and Caleb Williams as ambassadors for the brand.
“For us, I don’t want to sign 50 guys,” Alo’s head of athlete marketing Grant Gaon told On3 in a phone interview. “I want to sign 10 to 15 guys that align with our values, which are mindfulness and wellness. Juju’s actually the only high school athlete and our first.”
While he’s viewed by many as the future star of college football, he’s built to succeed in the NIL space. The sophomore in high school has more than 192,000 social media followers. He threw for 3,094 yards with 48 touchdowns this season, leading Carrollton to an 11-2 record.
Lewis is repped by Athletes First. Full terms of the agreement with the clothing brand were not disclosed but Gaon emphasized that Lewis will appear in marketing campaigns and other activations. The priority for Alo with the quarterback, however, is to make him comfortable.
“The cool thing is he’s a spectacular athlete on the field, but what drew us to him was who he is as a person and his family,” Gaon said. “Really digging deeper rather than the normal transactional route. It’s all about the relationship and being able to grow together. We just felt a sense of connection and family, as well as his alignment with our team and values.
“… He’s with us because he loves the brand and what we stand for.”
Alo worked with two of the biggest names in college football this past season in McCarthy and Williams. The advantage of working with Lewis, however, lets the brand start working with the quarterback as he finishes up his high school career.
Naturally, the relationship between Alo and Lewis will only grow.
“It’s definitely very special, for us it’s all about having longevity,” Gaon said. “It’s not just about growing Alo. It’s about growing Juju and his brand, especially off the field. We want him to grow in any which way.”
Julian Lewis’ rising marketability
Julian Lewis reclassified to the 2025 class in January. Since making the decision to speed up his high school career, he’s received an offer from new Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer. He’s also taken visits to Auburn and Colorado and is expected to visit Georgia this weekend.
Lewis committed to USC on Aug. 22 as the top-ranked player in the 2026 cycle. He’s still committed to the Trojans but has continued to take visits throughout his recruitment.
He previously signed a six-figure deal with Leaf Trading Cards and has an endorsement deal with the men’s jewelry brand Jaxxon.
Lewis boasts a $615,000 On3 NIL Valuation, sitting at No. 1 in the high school football NIL rankings. The annual projection is sky-high because of the value his social media following provides to brands. The valuation is No. 76 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.
The On3 NIL Valuation is calculated by combining roster value and personal NIL. Roster value is the value an athlete has by being a member of his or her team at his or her school, which factors into the role of NIL collectives. NIL in an athlete’s name, image and likeness and the value it could bring to regional and national brands outside of the scope of NIL collectives.