Mother Of Faizon Brandon, A High School Quarterback And Top-Ranked Recruit, Files Lawsuit Over North Carolina's NIL Restrictions

Rolanda Brandon has filed a lawsuit due to North Carolina’s NIL restrictions.

She is the mother of Faizon Brandon, a quarterback at Grimsley High School and the nationa’s top-ranked recruit in the 2026 class, according to ABC11. The high school player intends to play for the University of Tennessee upon graduating in the fall of 2025, which he affirmed through a verbal commitment, per CBS Sports.

The journey toward higher learning is often met with great excitement for athletes and name, image, and likeness (NIL) deals have further energized the sports arena for both college and some high school students. However, this may not have been the case for Faizon.

The Athletic Narrative states that while high school students can engage in NIL deals, the eligibility is subject to state laws and the specific rules of their schools or sports teams.

Rolanda is now suing the state of North Carolina due to the barriers around NIL deals, The Charlotte Observer reports. This has prevented Faizon from accepting lucrative opportunities that would benefit him and his family.

A lawsuit was filed in Wake County Superior Court by Charlotte Attorney Mike Ingersoll listing the state Board of Education and its Department of Public Instruction as defendants. This followed a ruling in June that prevented athletes attending public schools from profiting from NIL deals.

“The State Board of Education was asked to create rules allowing public high school athletes to use their NIL – it was not empowered to ban it,” Ingersoll told The Charlotte Observer.”We look forward to correcting the State Board’s error and to help our client benefit from the incredible value and opportunities his hard work and commitment have created for his name, image, and likeness.”

According to General Counsel for the State Board of Education Allison Schafer, the decision regarding public athletes is not final but will remain in place only for the 2024-25 school year.

“The (State Board) now must go through permanent rule-making on the NIL question,” Schafer wrote in a response sent in July 2024. “This is cumbersome and lengthy legislatively required process that takes approximately one year. In the coming year, the (State Board) will focus on beginning the process to adopt a permanent rule for the 2025-26 school year and beyond.”