High school football player’s family suing NC over being denied access to NIL opportunity

The mother of a Greensboro high school quarterback is suing the state of North Carolina over lack of NIL access for her son.

Rolanda Blackmon, whose son is Grimsley High School quarterback Faizon Brandon, filed a complaint last week in Wake County Superior Court.

Brandon, a University of Tennessee commit, is the No. 1 ranked player nationally in the class of 2026, according to 247 Sports.

The lawsuit asks that the court to allow N.C. high school athletes access to NIL and that the State Board of Education should not be able to regulate use of name, image and likeness by public school athletes.

This fall, N.C. private school athletes were allowed to profit off NIL. Providence Day’s David Sanders has signed deals with a national nutrition brand and a local health and wellness company.

This story will be updated.