North Carolina Tar Heels star Caleb Wilson has a new, massive NIL deal. The forward has reportedly signed a multi-year and multimillion-dollar shoe deal with New Balance.
Caleb Wilson came to North Carolina as a five-star recruit in the Class of 2025. He was the fifth-ranked player nationally and the second-ranked power forward in that recruiting cycle. Now, Wilson is widely projected to be a lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
A native of Atlanta, Wilson played his high school basketball at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School in Sandy Springs. There, he was a McDonald’s All-American and Mr. Georgia Basketball in 2025. He would average 21.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 3.6 blocks, and 2.1 steals per game on his way to helping win a state championship.
On3’s Jamie Shaw scouted Caleb Wilson when he was in high school. There, he had already shown what made him a five-star+ prospect.
“Caleb Wilson has a great frame, good length and natural pop,” Shaw wrote. “He plays really well in a phone booth, efficient movements in tight spaces, shows the footwork to shake free with the ball in the half court. He needs to continue getting stronger, which will help his base and balance. He is explosive around the basket, has go-to comfort over his left shoulder with patience. He can push the break and plays with pace. He has a vast array of offensive moves, at multiple levels. He is still learning his body and still gaining strength, this will only help his consistency. Tracking as one of the top players in his class.”
Caleb Wilson is currently ranked 80th in the On3 NIL 100. That’s a rating of the NIL value of athletes across sports, including both college and high school athletes. He is also ranked 30th among college basketball players in NIL valuation.
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 establishes the overall NIL market and projected 12-month growth rate for an Athlete by measuring two categories: Roster Value and NIL.
The majority of dollars athletes earn is based on their Roster Value. Roster Value collects data from all school collectives, players, and representatives using a proprietary Roster Management algorithm. NIL value measures the licensing and sponsorship market through exposure and social media influence. Roster Value and NIL combine to create the overall On3 NIL Valuation.
New Balance has been an aggressive brand in adding new athletes to represent them. At the professional level, that’s include superstars like Shohei Ohtani and Cooper Flagg as deals go across multiple sports. In college, they’ve also been active in the NIL space, adding athletes like Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love and then-Stanford star Cameron Brink.
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