Less than 14 months from throwing his first college pass, Arch Manning has created a separate name, image and likeness category for himself — one where it’s not about how much the generational five-star quarterback can earn but whether it’s important to earn anything at all.
It is a category where — at the top of the NIL food chain — football is still the main thing.
Manning, the celebrated Texas commitment, comes from the first family of football, a brand so recognizable that his father Cooper, whose career was cut short due to spinal stenosis, is a bankable star himself. That’s before mentioning grandfather Archie and uncles Peyton and Eli, whose commercial identities have transcended the sport they once played.
“They’re the Kennedys of football,” said Steve Wiltfong, 247Sports director of football recruiting.
Arch Manning’s commitment to Texas on June 23 been a bit lost in the headlines as another round of conference realignment intervened. But the implications of that commitment have not dimmed.
Manning’s future is so promising, so lucrative and so diverse that the father of the next big thing after Manning is already seeking advice.
Dominic Raiola, father of quarterback Dylan Raiola (the No. 1 player in the Class of 2024), has reached out to Cooper Manning to begin assembling a blueprint for navigating football in the NIL era. Dylan committed to Ohio State in May.
“I do like how they do things,” Dominic said of the Mannings. “Long answer, yes, we are keeping track. All the agents calling, right? Drew [Rosenhaus] is calling. [High-profile Athletes First agent] Todd France is calling. CAA is calling.
“I think it’s good to have those conversations. … You want to make sure you’re schooled on it. You don’t want to send your kid off to the Wild West. ‘Here’s
