Notre Dame Football: Riley Leonard Inks Six-Digit NIL Deal
![Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard (13) at Notre Dame spring football practice Thursday, March 7, 2024, at the Irish Athletics Center in South Bend. Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard (13) at Notre Dame spring football practice Thursday, March 7, 2024, at the Irish Athletics Center in South Bend.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_2525,h_1420,x_0,y_34/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/irish_breakdown/01j5dwtpfc0xjg7p1nrs.jpg)
Being the Notre Dame starting quarterback is already paying massive dividends for Riley Leonard. The Duke transfer, who's set to lead the Fighting Irish offense in 2024, has signed a $100,000 deal with popular activewear company Rhoback. Rhoback U. has emerged as a prominent sponsor of the NIL era the last three years, also signing star ND CB Benjamin Morrison this year and top Fighting Irish RB Audric Estime a season ago.
We're thrilled to partner with QB @rileyleonard13_ as his official apparel sponsor.
— RHOBACK (@rhoback) August 15, 2024
Riley's toughness and infectious personality are immediately evident and we're eager to showcase him in our upcoming “EARN IT.” campaign ☘️#rhobacku #earnit #rhoback #craveactivity pic.twitter.com/i8YkEAo1fK
Leonard has been very popular on the NIL circuit since changing schools last year. No surprise at all considering his character, athletic ability, and platform he's about to have as the Fighting Irish quarterback. Leonard recently partnered with Gillette to move into the top 20 NIL rankings among college football players, according to On3. On IG, he posted to his more than 36,000 followers, "Fresh, clean, and ready to go with Gillette".
Leonard has also partnered this year with prominent companies such as Raising Cane’s, Leaf, Haggar, Panini, Wildcard, and Topps. The total valuation of his NIL deals since coming on board at Notre Dame is believed to exceed $1 million, and he'll have plenty of high-profile opportunities to boost that figure once the season kicks off.
With Leonard and Morrison now members of the Rhoback U family of collegiate athletes, these sweet Fighting Irish and Notre Dame Stadium polo shirts figure to be very difficult to keep in stock this fall.
Rhoback signed NIL deals with Riley Leonard and Benjamin Morrison today.
— Notre Dame Recruiting (@NDrecruiting01) August 16, 2024
Awesome, that means I then will buy Rhoback products. Also, these polo designs are really cool. pic.twitter.com/Be4hZk6VvE