Tyler Atkinson inked an NIL deal with adidas in June.

Now the elite 2026 linebacker recruit is making sure the partnership gives back to his community. The Grayson (Georgia) junior linebacker gifted his teammates new adidas cleats on Wednesday afternoon. He surprised the team during a meeting.

Atkinson was part of the first group of high school athletes to sign with the sportswear giant. Part of the adizero 7 Class, he signed ahead of the Overtime OT7 Finals in Tampa. The collaboration between adidas and Overtime is an extension of the multi-year partnership between the two dating back to October 2023.

“I just want to say I’m thankful for y’all,” Atkinson said in front of his team. “I wouldn’t want to be part of no other team. You guys put in so much work, I’m glad to be on this team. I just want to say I’ve been blessed to give you all a gift. I got y’all some brand new cleats.”

Brands like Beats by Dre and Bose have partnered with top college athletes for NIL campaigns, posting on social media and gifting products to teams. Atkinson’s deal is one of the first at the high school level.

The No. 13 recruit in the 2026 recruiting class according to the On3 Industry Ranking, the linebacker has received over FBS offers. Alabama, Auburn and Georgia appear to be the schools to watch at the moment. Atkinson is coming off a visit at the top-five Georgia-Alabama matchup.

“The environment is electric in Bryant-Denny Stadium!” On3’s No. 1 ranked linebacker Tyler Atkinson told On3’s Steve Wiltfong. “The way Coach [Kalen] DeBoer and staff are making their own path gets me excited. They took time with me pregame in the locker room before probably the biggest game of the season to let me know how important it was to have me at the game.  It was a huge impression for our first time meeting in person.”

Tyler Atkinson’s On3 NIL Valuation

The 2026 linebacker has been in the NIL space since Georgia began allowing athletes to profit on NIL without losing eligibility in October 2023. Atkinson previously inked a partnership with Xenith – a leader in football helmet and shoulder pad technology – last November.

He currently holds an On3 NIL Valuation of $201,000, which ranks No. 100 in the NIL high school football rankings. Atkinson also has more than 25,000 social media followers.

The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. A proprietary algorithm, the On3 NIL Valuation calculates an athlete’s NIL value using dynamic data points targeting three primary categories: performance, influence and exposure.

While the algorithm includes deal data, it does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals athletes have completed to date, nor does it set an athlete’s NIL valuation for their entire career.

“Despite what some fans and media believe, there is not an unlimited amount of money being deployed to manage rosters,” said Shannon Terry, the founder and CEO of On3. “Any model – whether it’s today’s broken NCAA ‘student-athlete’ construct or media rights sharing through employment, which is almost a certainty in the near future – demands efficiency based on the athlete and school knowing the athlete’s respective market value.”

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