ASU QB Jayden Daniels signs NIL deal with Venezia’s Pizzeria

Many college athletes have been busy since the name, image and likeness (NIL) ruling went into effect on July 1, including Arizona State quarterback Jayden Daniels.

Daniels signed his second NIL deal with Venezia’s Pizzeria on Tuesday as he continues to spread his brand.

The deal includes his very own pizza. “The JD5” comes with pepperoni, sausage, bacon, mushrooms and extra cheese, and customers can get an extra large of the specialty pizza for $24.99. The NIL rule allows college athletes to profit off of their brand.

We’re excited to announce our partnership with ASU’s star quarterback Jayden Daniels (@JayD__5)! Visit any of our 5 valley locations and ask for The JD5: Jayden’s specialty pizza topped with pepperoni, sausage, bacon, mushrooms and extra cheese. A toppings touchdown! pic.twitter.com/cdKa1WTuvQ

— Venezia's Pizzeria (@VeneziasPizza) July 28, 2021

Sports360AZ’s Brad Cesmat reported that Daniels get a percentage of each pizza sold.

“It’s still crazy to think that my name is on a pizza, and I have my own pizza,” Daniels said during the Pac-12’s media day on Tuesday. “If you’re in Tempe, stop by, support, and show love to the pizza.”

This partnership comes just nine days after signing his first NIL deal with The Solution, an IV nutrition and hydration clinic in California.

A player of Daniels’ caliber will surely have more opportunities to profit off his name, image and likeness, but he said he won’t let them distract him from his first priority — leading the Sun Devils to their first Rose Bowl since 1996.

“My focus is on the team. My focus is on football,” Daniels said. “At the the end of the day, if we don’t win football games, then none of the sponsorships or anything are going to come. So the main thing is just focusing on football and focusing on winning games.”

Entering his junior season, the San Bernardino native is coming off a year in which the team didn’t rely on him as much as they needed too his freshman year because of ASU’s dominant running game. Daniels still showed flashes as a dual-threat quarterback. In just four games, he finished with 701 yards, five touchdowns and one interception through the air and 223 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

Daniels hopes 2021 will be one similar to his 2019 season. He threw for 2,943 yards, 17 touchdowns and only two interceptions and led the Sun Devils to impressive victories over Michigan State, Cal and Oregon.

Daniels was recently named to the preseason Maxwell Award watchlist for 2021, which is given to the nation’s most outstanding player.