St. John Bosco (Calif.) is one of the country’s top High School Football teams, ranked No. 2 nationally behind Mater Dei.
They’re also leading off the field, taking advantage of the opportunities afforded by the NIL legislation California signed into law last year.
According to a report by Eric Sondheimer at the Los Angeles Times, the school has announced that the entire football team can participate in a new deal with KONGIQ Sports Performance. This is the first deal of its kind for a high school team-wide agreement.
St. John Bosco announces that Sports Performance group signs NIL football deal. Each football player can participate. pic.twitter.com/VQUAIThlBu
— eric sondheimer (@latsondheimer) August 22, 2022
The first payments are set to hit the accounts of participating players before Friday night’s game against Allen (Texas). Afterward, they’ll be sharing personal experiences on social media as part of their end of the bargain.
Here’s what head coach Jason Negro told USA TODAY Sports about the deal:
“We’re a very collegiate-minded program. If there’s something colleges are doing, what better way to help our athletes than to provide them the same type of opportunity? I want to be a pioneer at the high school level, and I think we’re doing that at Bosco.”
Negro also says he hasn’t gotten any negative feedback from parents.
“Not one parent has reached out to us with concerns or questions as to what this is about. The way they’re approaching it is that it’s a small job,” Negro said. “The kids are being paid for a service to be an influencer and talk about it in a positive light. They’re not getting rich off it, but this isn’t a gimmick. It’s basic and straightforward.”
The Los Angeles Daily News reports that the deal is worth $400 per player.
