Five-Star Texas Longhorns Recruit Inks Deal With NIL Representation

A high school star committed to the Texas Longhorns has picked his NIL representation.

Mandarin wide receiver Jaime Ffrench Jr. speaks with reporters after committing to Texas on August 30, 2024. [Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union] / Clayton Freeman/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK

Mandarin High School wide receiver Jaime Ffrench is one of the best football players in his class. He will be continuing his career after high school as a member of the Texas Longhorns, where he announced his commitment last week.

Now locked in with one of the biggest programs in the nation, Ffrench has announced which representation he will be using as he grows his NIL brand. The five-star recruit will be part of Rosenhaus Sports.

That name will sound familiar because it is the agency established in 1988 by NFL powerbroking agent, Drew Rosenhaus. Since 2004, that agency has worked out more than 1,100 contracts in the NFL totaling north of $8 billion.

Now, Rosenhaus is looking to break into the NIL sphere. There are seven members of the staff whose sole responsibility is to focus on finding opportunities for the athletes they represent. Ffrench is joining a group that also includes Tyler Van Dyke of Wisconsin and Carnell Tate of Ohio State.

“I believe in NIL. I think it’s great for everyone involved,” Drew Rosenhaus recently told On3’s Phillip Dukes. “But I do think that there needs to be structure, that all colleges in major conferences should operate with a salary cap like we have in professional sports. And I think structure would be great to give everybody a fair shot at being competitive, and we’re not just seeing the collectives with the deep pockets dominate recruiting.”

Opportunities for the Mandarin High product are going to start flowing in. He was excellent as a junior, catching 62 passes for 1,247 yards and 14 touchdowns. The Longhorns were able to secure his commitment beating out the LSU Tigers and Miami (FL) Hurricanes.

After Florida made changes to its laws to allow NIL for high school athletes in July, Ffrench has wasted no time cashing in. Despite being late to the party compared to some of his peers, he already has an NIL valuation of $464,000, per On3.

That is good enough for 25th among high school athletes, as his valuation is buoyed by a strong social media presence. He has over 24,500 followers and counting.

“You want to get taken care of anywhere you go, that’s just a big thing in college football now,” Ffrench told On3 over the summer. “So you want to make sure that’s a piece of it but also want to be sure you take care of the on-field stuff.”

Texas has shown they are willing to take care of their student-athletes. They have five players in the top 79 of NIL valuations in college football, including No. 2 Arch Manning and No. 6 Quinn Ewers.