Last month, Mikey Williams, a top prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, became the first high school athlete to sign an endorsement deal profiting off his name, image, and likeness. With the NIL ruling going into effect earlier this summer, there has still been a lot of gray area and unanswered questions. However, the new ruling allowed the 17-year-old basketball player at Vertical Academy to sign a shoe deal with Puma.

Related: Navigating NIL Deals: What's Off-Limits

Although Williams isn't currently playing for a high school team, he is attending Vertical Academy, a basketball prep school that competes against other prep schools across the country. With the new laws surrounding NIL, he is protected and still NCAA eligible, which would have previously been an issue. Prior to signing the Puma contract, Mikey also signed with one of the biggest sports management agencies in the world: Excel Sports. This deal is expected to bring in millions for the young basketball star, along with giving him the expert tools and help to negotiate and navigate future NIL deals.

Related: 6 Most Interesting NIL Deals

The terms of Williams' endorsement deal haven't been completely clear to the public, although it is known that it is a multi-year deal, so he is expected to profit substantially. He will be the face of Puma's new marketing campaign, “Not Yet Rated,” which he promoted on his Instagram account last month.

With such a big market, rising young talent, and social media presences, it's likely that Mikey will be the first of many high school athletes that sign big-time NIL deals, and he will be remembered as the athlete who paved the way for many more to come!

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* Originally published on December 21, 2021, by Celeste Gutierrez