USC guard, Five-Star Plus+ recruit Isaiah Collier signs with CAA Sports for NIL representation

Nakos updated headshotby:Pete Nakos07/24/23

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Isaiah Collier could have been a valuable marketing tool for brands as a high school athlete.

The nation’s top-ranked recruit in the 2023 cycle was not able to cash in on his name, image and likeness rights as a high school player. A Five-Star Plus+ prospect, he played his high school ball for Wheeler in Marietta, Georgia. The Peach State prohibits its high school athletes from turning a profit on their publicity rights.

Now out in Los Angeles preparing for his freshman year at USC, the point guard can start evaluating his NIL opportunities. He has brought on CAA Sports — Creative Artists Agency — for NIL representation. The sports agency based out of Los Angeles has a list of NBA clients including Zion Williamson, Paul George, Chris Paul and Kyle Kuzma.

CAA has been active in the college ranks since the inception of NIL in 2021, working with Duke’s Paolo Banchero and Alabama’s Bryce Young.

Georgia’s Gatorade Player of the Year and a McDonald’s All-American saw his recruiting stock take off last summer. In eight EYBL Circuit games with his AAU team, he averaged 15.1 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.4 steals. He committed to USC in November, picking the Trojans over Alabama, Michigan and UCLA.

The co-MVP of the McDonald’s All-Star Game finished with a game-high 25 points. Collier is expected to start at point guard this winter for a Trojans program that finished 22-11 and fell in the first round of the NCAA tournament. They do bring back Boogie Ellis, who turned down the NBA after averaging 17.7 points and 3.7 rebounds last season.

Collier’s ball skills and playmaking are what make his game so good, but some NBA scouts see a need for him to get his shooting game on track.

“He’s going to have to get that shot right. It is so hard for playmakers who can’t shoot it to make it,” an NBA scout said previously told On3’s Jamie Shaw.

Isaiah Collier’s growing On3 NIL Valuation

With nearly 85,000 social media followers, Collier is already has a strong platform to begin signing endorsement deals. He’ll also be playing on a team that will have plenty of eyeballs on it this coming season.

Along with Collier, the Trojans picked up five-star prospect Bronny James in the 2023 recruiting class. The son of LeBron James opted to stick close to home, which will surely draw significant media attention to the Trojans this season.

While he has not publicly announced an NIL deal yet, Isaiah Collier has a $596,000 On3 NIL Valuation. The valuation ranks No. 71 in the On3 NIL 100, which is the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.

James has more than 13.3 million social media followers and the nation’s highest valuation at $6.4 million.

The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. A proprietary algorithm, the On3 NIL Valuation calculates an athlete’s NIL value using dynamic data points targeting three primary categories: performance, influence and exposure.

About On3 NIL Valuation, Brand Value, Roster Value

While the algorithm includes deal data, it does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals athletes have completed to date, nor does it set an athlete’s NIL valuation for their entire career. The On3 NIL Valuation calculates the optimized NIL opportunity for athletes relative to the overall NIL market and projects out to as long as 12 months into the future.