Two Michigan freshman early enrollees sign NIL deals
Michigan five-star freshman cornerback Will Johnson and three-star freshman offensive lineman Connor Jones recently announced new NIL deals within weeks of enrolling at Michigan.
Valiant, an NIL management group at the University of Michigan announced via Twitter that Johnson is the first brand ambassador of the Valiant team.
“We believe that Will possesses all of the upstanding character traits that you look for in a Michigan Man,” the statement read. “Raised in Grosse Pointe Michigan, Will dreamed of following in his father’s footsteps and suiting up for the Maize and Blue each Saturday. His father, Deon Johnson, was a star defensive back for Michigan in the early nineties. Being a five star recruit, Will could have waited to make his commitment decision and enjoy the nature of the recruiting courting process, but he chose to commit early to Michigan in February of 2021, and made it his mission to recruit the nation’s top talent to join him in Ann Arbor.”
Johnson currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $64,000, with over 28,000 followers across all social media platforms. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.
Johnson ranks as the No. 17 prospect in the country according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He ranks as the No. 2 cornerback and the No. 1 prospect in Michigan.
Jones announced an NIL partnership with the Colorado Institute of Sports Medicine as a Brand Ambassador. Jones announced the partnership on his Twitter adding: “I’m motivated to work with an organization that is as passionate about sports medicine as I am!”
Jones currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $14,600, with over 5,000 followers across all social media platforms. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.
Jones ranks as the No. 900 prospect in the country according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He ranks as the No. 68 offensive tackle and the No.5 prospect in Colorado.
