Businessman Adam Weitsman has reached out for two five-star prospects in the 2024 class who hold Syracuse basketball scholarship offers regarding possible name, image and likeness deals, Weitsman told me in a phone interview on Tuesday afternoon.
Weitsman is not speaking directly with these two or any other high-school players, but rather, with their parents or guardians. He cannot discuss Syracuse basketball at all with high-school recruits or their camps.
The two players whom Weitsman has reached out for are 2024 five-star guard Ian Jackson, who was offered by the Orange in April, and 2024 five-star point guard Elliot Cadeau, who put the ‘Cuse in his top six over the weekend and received a Syracuse basketball offer nearly a year ago.
Per media reports that came out not too long ago, Adam Weitsman plans to offer $1 million annually to one five-star football player and one five-star basketball player to represent his companies.
Weitsman told me that he’s also working on putting together a NIL opportunity for a high-school women’s basketball player, but he said it won’t be for $1 million.
Adam Weitsman has reached out regarding NIL deals for five-star players with Syracuse basketball offers.
On Monday, I wrote about how I hoped that Weitsman would reach out to the 6-foot-1 Cadeau, who has a top six of the Orange, North Carolina, Louisville, Kansas, Texas Tech and Texas.
Cadeau, a top-10 national prospect in 2024 and the country’s No. 1 point guard in this cycle according to several recruiting services, is a junior at the Link Academy in Branson, Mo. He has already made official visits to Louisville, North Carolina and Texas Tech; reports suggest that Cadeau is eyeing an official visit to the Hill as well.
Cadeau himself has already gotten into the NIL business while still in high school, and he also recently competed for Sweden’s U18 national team.
Weitsman said he saw my story on Monday about Cadeau, and Weitsman told me by phone that he’s reached out to discuss his NIL opportunity with Cadeau’s parents.
Weitsman has also reached out for the 6-foot-6 Jackson and spoken to someone in his camp. A significant contender for the No. 1 overall rating in the 2024 class, Jackson is a junior at Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, N.Y.
Per his bio on the 247Sports Web site, Jackson in October took official visits to Kentucky and Oregon. He is planning to officially visit LSU and North Carolina in the near future.
A couple of important points here to stress. Weitsman will be speaking about these NIL opportunities with high-school players’ parents or guardians.
He will never discuss Syracuse basketball or playing for the Orange or any other team, because his NIL deals can’t be used as a form of inducement (“pay-for-play”) for a high-school player to commit to a specific college or university, whether that’s Syracuse University or another school.
Weitsman says he’s doing everything in the NIL arena step by step and by the book, and he will not do anything to jeopardize a high-school player, the Syracuse basketball program, or any other college team for that matter.
He says he has hired an attorney with experience in NIL to assist him, and his name is Darren Heitner, according to Weitsman.
Adam Weitsman doesn’t plan to pay high-school recruits to market his companies. He wants them to get involved in non-profit, civic and philanthropic measures in the 315 and 607 area codes.
Weitsman mentioned holding basketball camps and free training camps for kids in inner cities, for example. He says that he wants to provide these high-school players with “a big life lesson of giving” before they likely move on to the NBA or other professional options.
Weitsman says he hasn’t reached out for any football recruits as of yet. We’ll obviously continue to stay in touch with Adam Weitsman about his NIL deals, including how conversations go with the camps of Cadeau and Jackson.