St. John Bosco football team signs unprecedented NIL deal
Bellflower St. John Bosco’s football team is about to go where no high school team has gone — a teamwide name, image and likeness deal that will pay compensation to anyone who wants to participate, according to an announcement by KONGiQ Sports Performance on Monday. It is believed to be the first for a high school.
Players who choose to participate will be compensated for posting personal experiences on social media accounts using the KONGiQ Sports Performance System and also on the KONGiQ App. KONGiQ says the student-athletes also will be listed as influencers on the company’s website.
The first of two payments will be delivered the night before St. John Bosco opens its season Friday in Allen, Texas. Players are allowed to be compensated under state rules as long as there is no recognition of the student’s school, school logos, uniforms or insignias. This deal is believed to be $400 per participating player.
The news release includes comments from school president Brian Wickstrom and coach Jason Negro, and the endorsement could lead to a reprimand for the school from the Southern Section because NIL is supposed to involve only individuals under CIF rules.
KONGiQ, part of Bass Enterprises, is based in Dallas and focuses on sports performance, equipment and wireless technology for college and high school sports programs.
Individual high school players have been receiving NIL deals, such as Los Alamitos quarterback Malachi Nelson, Chatsworth Sierra Canyon girls’ basketball player Juju Watkins and Studio City Harvard-Westlake soccer players Alyssa and Gisele Thompson.
A teamwide agreement, however, appears to be one of the first and could lead to others.
St. John Bosco is ranked No. 2 in The Times’ top 25 rankings.