Dylan Raiola NIL Deal in 2024: Background, Career, Father and More

Dylan Raiola’s Early Life and Background

Meet Dylan Raiola, who committed to Nebraska in December followed by flipping from Georgia and before that, Ohio State. He often gets compared with college football sensation Patrick Mahomes, given the similarity of passing moves and the five-star prospect status. However, his destiny was written long before he was born cause playing football is in his blood. He got it from his dad. "He's had the benefit of learning from his family members," stated a sports analyst.

Dylan Raiola was born on May 9 2005 to his dad Dominic, who played in the NFL and his mom, Yvonne Raiola. His siblings are his elder sister Taylor, who played volleyball at TCU, and a younger brother named Dayton. His parents were childhood sweethearts and got married in 2004.

Dylan's mom, Yvonne Raiola, hails from Kailua, Hawaii, and went to Kamehameha High School before going to the University of Hawaii for her collegiate career. Just like Dylan's dad, his mom was also into sports and used to play water polo in Hawaii.

Apart from his parents, Dylan's granddad,

Tommy Raiola, also played football. He was a defensive lineman for the University of Miami. He was active during the 1970s, but a shoulder injury shortened his football career in 1977.

Besides his family members, Dylan Raiola feels blessed to have the opportunity to be called the godson of NFL quarterback Matthew Stafford, who plays for the Los Angeles Rams. He often calls him ""Uncle Matthew." Besides that, Stafford also praised him by saying, "(Raiola's) a kid, baller, unbelievably talented quarterback. He's a stud." With the support of a loving family and the guidance of his godfather, Dylan successfully established his football career, which he began at Burleson High School.

Dylan Raiola’s High School Football Career

6-foot-3, 230-pound quarterback has versatile experience of playing at three high schools. Dylan's high school career at Burleson started when his father's old friend, who played with him at Detroit Lions, visited their place. Jon Kitna noticed Dylan's skills and after watching his throw, he started guiding him and kept contact with him. Meanwhile, Kitna took charge as Burleson's head coach and was so impressed with Dylan that he enrolled him in the program for his sophomore year. During this Dylan completed 3341 yards with 32 touchdowns and five interceptions and made an 8-4 record for Jon Kitna's guided team. Given his stats, Dylan earned District 5-5A-II offensive MVP honors.

Dylan transferred to Chandler High School in Arizona for his junior year and threw for 2435 yards and 22 touchdowns with five interceptions. During his senior year, he moved to Buford High School and contributed to his team with an 11-2 record, completing 2819 yards and 34 touchdowns with one interception. Dylan received a flood of scholarship offers from colleges following his high school performance.

Dylan Raiola’s Recruitment Journey

Numerous famous colleges such as Alabama, Arizona, Baylor, Florida State, Missouri, Notre Dame, Ohio State, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, USC, Washington State, and West Virginia, offered scholarship letters to Dylan Raiola in 2022. At the same time, he was receiving offers from several schools as well.

Following his college commitment, Ryan Day came up with a few strategies and built a strong relationship with him, as Dylan was his top QB target. Given their bond, Dylan committed to the Ohio Buckeyes on his 17th birthday, May 9, 2022. Moving forward, he stayed connected with them for the next seven months, but after facing some agreement issues, he left the team.

In addition to that, Raiola narrowed down his choices to Nebraska, Georgia, and USC and visited each campus multiple times. Meanwhile, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart made him his No. 1 priority and after Georgia won the national championship in January 2023, Dylan committed to the Bulldogs on May 15.

They confirmed that Raiola had no plans to change his mind and would stick to the program for the next four years. However, sometime later, Dylan accompanied his dad and younger brother Dayton to watch Nebraska's home game against Michigan. It was his brother's official visit to the program for the 2026 class and he went to cheer up his brother. During the visit, head coach Matt Rhule had a light-hearted conversation with Dylan.

In December 2023, the news of his flight from Georgia surfaced, and many predicted he would land in Nebraska. The news of his flight from Georgia surfaced in December 2023, creating many headlines in the college football community. Meanwhile, he made his first official visit to Nebraska. The rumors were all over the place following his late mind change to leave Georgia.

After several official and unofficial visits to Nebraska, Dylan publicly announced his decision to play for Nebraska on December 18 and signed with them on December 20. By analyzing his career till now, most recruiters rated him highly.

College Prospects and Rankings

According to 247 Sports, Dylan Raiola stands first for his position and second as an overall prospect. "very few holes in his game and Raiola is " ahead of the curve for his age," stated one analyst named Chris Singletary while talking about Raiola. Another recruiter ESPN also ranked him as the No. 1 quarterback and rated him among the top 10 overall prospects given his blue-chip holder status.

As per Rivals, he is the No. 2 overall recruit, and they rated him the No. 1 quarterback just like other recruits. On the other hand, On3 is slightly different in their ranking and rated him the 35th overall prospect. Given his popularity across college football, he landed major NIL deals, which adds value to his net worth.

Dylan Raiola’s NIL Deals and Partnerships

Raiola is all set for his freshman debut at Nebraska, while, off the court, his fame is spreading all over the nation. As of August 23, 2024, his NIL plus roster value is $1 million, with the 21st ranking on NIL 1o0, and he stands 12th on the college football NIL rank. On top of that, he enjoys a massive fan following of 138k, with 94k followers on Instagram and 44k people following him on Twitter.

Raiola has two major active deals as of now. One with EA Sports, and the deal includes using Dylan's name, image, and likeness in their video games, particularly College Football 25, which was released last month in July. Added to that, Raiola signed a deal with trading card company Panini along with Texas Longhorns quarterbacks Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning. "My marketing team handles it, my parents handle it, and I'll play football," said Raiola, who likes to stay focused on the game and doesn't want to deal with NIL stuff. Let's dig deeper into his family's football legacy, which got passed to him.

Dylan Raiola’s Personal Connections and Legacy in College Football

Dominic Raiola was a legendary football player back in his day and played for the Detroit Lions in the NFL. He joined the NFL in 2001 as the 50th overall pick for the Detroit Lions and had a 14-season career, playing in 219 games and starting in 203 games. For his collegiate career, he went to Nebraska Cornhuskers, where his son is now committed. Dylan's dad was the first offensive lineman to start a game as a freshman in 1991. As a highlight of his career, Dominic was named first-team All-American and received the prestigious Rimington Trophy.

Apart from his dad, Dylan takes inspiration from his uncle, Donovan Raiola, who is an offensive line coach at Nebraska. The 2024 season is gonna be his third with the program. Dylan shares a unique bond with his uncle and you can often spot them spending time together.

As Dylan approaches his freshman year season at Nebraska, he has a lot on his shoulders given his family legacy of football. Now that the season will start in a few days, many eyes are on him and his fans are waiting to watch him on the field. Let us know in the comments how excited you are about the season.