Faizon Brandon, a five-star quarterback and the No. 1-ranked prospect in the Class of 2026, is suing the North Carolina State Board of Education over its ban of endorsement deals for student-athletes of public high schools. Faizon's mother, Rolanda Brandon, is joining him in the lawsuit.
Brandon is a standout at Grimsley High School in Greensboro, North Carolina. He's committed to Tennessee.
In the full complaint, which was electronically filed on Aug. 23, it is written that back in April, Brandon "was approached by a prominent national trading card company and presented with an opportunity... to provide a certain volume of signed memorabilia prior to his high school graduation.
"In exchange, NIL Sponsor 1 would pay [Brandon] a substantial sum of money, with payments structured over time. The agreement would provide [Brandon] and his family with financial security for years to come."
The complaint suggests that the cost is "potentially millions of dollars that Brandon has no guarantee of ever recouping."
"I feel like this is important because we are able to benefit off of what we worked for," Brandon told 247Sports/CBS Sports on Monday morning. "This will help many other kids and not just myself."
Brandon committed to Tennessee over other top-four finalists LSU, NC State, and Alabama in August.
"For his class, [Brandon] is widely regarded as the top-rated football recruit in the country," says the complaint. "After receiving scholarship offers from nearly every major college football program, he recently verbally committed to the University of Tennessee and is likely to graduate in December 2025, after which he will enroll at the University of Tennessee in January 2026. Unlike North Carolina, Tennessee permits its high school athletes both public and private to engage in NIL activities."
Additionally, the complaint suggests that Brandon and his family have taken multiple steps to amend the issue directly with the Board before taking the action to sue.
"NIL Sponsor 1 already indicated once the likelihood of Brandon offer being rescinded due to the parties' inability to execute an agreement. On or about June 24, 2024, Brandon with the help of an attorney, notified Board Chair Eric Davis of this issue. The Board, however, waited until two days after the NIL Prohibition went into effect (July 3) to respond to Brandon's concerns.
"In her response to Brandon, DPI General Counsel, Allison Schafer, confirmed that no changes to the Board's NIL Prohibition will occur any time soon, writing that any permanent rule changes take approximately one year to go into effect.
"Even if the Board were to rescind or amend its prohibition in a manner that would permit [Brandon] to enter into the deal by July 2025, as is the shortest timeline indicated by DPI's General Counsel, Brandon would have lost the intervening twelve months of what, at its inception, would have been a 20-month agreement, with only five months (July through December) to realize any benefit from NIL Sponsor 1's offer, should it even still exist. This is time Brandon can never recover."
According to the complaint, 38 states and the District of Columbia, either legislatively or through their respective athletics governing bodies, permit high school athletes to engage in NIL activities and provide that engagement in NIL activities does not invalidate athletes' amateur status.
Brandon believes that changing the NIL law in North Carolina can positively impact the lives of future prospects down the line, and he believes it's bigger than himself.
"The opportunity to Brandon presented by NIL Sponsor 1 is not unique to Brandon," according to the complaint. "Indeed, other highly-ranked national recruits at Brandon's same position have been offered or entered into similar agreements by NIL Sponsor 1, with some agreements valued at, upon information and belief, over one million dollars."
247Sports ranks Brandon as the No. 1 prospect in the 2026 class.
