Key Takeaways
- Shannon Terry says roughly 0.6% of the 1.04 million high school football players held a Rivals star rating last season.
- The new Rivals Recruits package costs $499. It includes a written evaluation, a grade and consideration for Rivals’ recruiting rankings.
- Rivals says the same scouts and standards used for blue-chip prospects apply to paid evaluations, and that payment guarantees no specific outcome.
- The program adds to an existing Rivals product that lets recruits claim a profile for $120 per year.
On3-owned recruiting network Rivals has launched Rivals Recruits, a program that lets high school athletes pay $499 to be evaluated by Rivals scouts. The package includes a written evaluation, a grade and consideration for Rivals’ recruiting rankings. A 20% discount currently lowers the price to $399.99. Rivals says the fee buys an evaluation, not a result.
Recruiting services have usually found prospects by scouting games, watching film, talking with coaches and attending camps and events. With Rivals Recruits, athletes can now request an evaluation directly.
How Many High School Football Players Hold a Rivals Star Rating?
Rivals uses its own coverage numbers to explain the program. The company says more than 1 million boys play high school football, while Rivals has typically carried about 6,600 star-rated prospects across the senior, junior and sophomore classes at any one time.
Shannon Terry, founder and CEO of On3 and Rivals, put the figure at 1.04 million players last season. He said about 6,600 of them held a Rivals star rating, roughly 0.6%. Terry described the gap as one of capacity rather than talent. He said Rivals scouts have always focused on FBS prospects, while FCS, Division II, NAIA and Division III players rarely get their film reviewed.
Rivals says the program is designed to identify athletes who may compete at the FBS, FCS, Division II, NAIA, Division III and other levels.
Rivals Recruits Evaluation Standards and Scouting Staff
Rivals says paid evaluations do not come from a separate or lower tier. According to the company, the scouts evaluating Rivals Recruits athletes belong to the same team that evaluates and ranks many of the nation’s top blue-chip prospects. The program does not create a separate standard.
Rivals also says rankings cannot be bought. An athlete can purchase access to the evaluation process, but payment does not guarantee a rating, ranking, star designation or any specific evaluation outcome. Terry summarized the policy: “You can pay for an evaluation. You can’t pay for the result.”
Terry also said AI is not involved in the evaluations. Athletes and parents can decide whether to display their evaluation and grade publicly once it is delivered.
A Second Paid Product for Recruits
The evaluation service is not Rivals’ first product sold to recruits. Rivals already lets recruits claim a recruiting profile for $120 a year, currently discounted to $48 for the first year.
Football is where Rivals Recruits starts. Rivals says the mission extends across sports, including basketball and others as the program expands. It has not announced a timeline for adding sports.
The launch also comes as rival network 247Sports changes how it ranks recruits. In March, 247Sports announced that starting with the 2027 recruiting class, it would no longer use its composite player ratings to calculate its official team recruiting rankings. It will rely only on its own internal rankings.
Paid Evaluations and the ‘On the Radar’ List
Rivals publishes an “On the Radar” rankings list for the 2027 football class. Terry has described it as a growing list of potential college players outside the traditional star-rated recruits Rivals has covered for three decades.
The launch has drawn criticism online. Some parents and fans have raised fairness concerns: families who can afford the fee can put an athlete directly in front of a Rivals scout, while others still depend on traditional scouting.
Source: Awful Announcing, Kevin Harrish, September 24, 2026, https://awfulannouncing.com/high-school/rivals-charging-high-school-athletes-evaluation-ranking-consideration.html
Source: Rivals Recruits FAQ, On3, https://www.on3.com/recruits/faq/
Source: The Spun, September 24, 2026, https://thespun.com/college-football/rivals-defends-499-cost-for-high-school-athlete-evaluation
Source: Dexerto, September 24, 2026, https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/rivals-starts-charging-high-school-athletes-500-for-scouting-evaluations-and-ranking-consideration-3412300/
Source: FootballScoop, September 24, 2026, https://www.footballscoop.com/2026/09/24/rivals-launches-service-allowing-high-school-players-pay-evaluations
Source: Saturday Down South, September 24, 2026, https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/news/college-football/rivals-now-charging-high-school-athletes-499-for-evaluation-ranking-consideration/
Source: X, Shannon Terry, [Date], [URL]
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About Youth Sports Business Report
Youth Sports Business Report (YSBR) is the largest and most trusted media platform covering the business of youth sports worldwide. YSBR delivers youth sports news, market intelligence, and original analysis daily across facilities, sponsorships, private equity, NIL, sports technology, and league operations. With more than 50,000 followers, YSBR is the leading source of youth sports industry news for the investors, owners, operators, and brands shaping the future of youth sports.
How big is the youth sports market?
American families spend approximately $54 billion annually on kids’ sports and recreation, according to the YSBR and Kinetica Group Youth Sports TAM & Parent Spending Report, with organized sports alone representing a $40 billion-plus market. The average family spent $1,016 on a child’s primary sport in 2024, up 46 percent since 2019, per the Aspen Institute’s Project Play, and market research projects the global youth sports market will reach approximately $114 billion by 2032 (Business Research Insights).
How many kids play youth sports in the United States?
Approximately 27.3 million children ages 6 to 17, or about 54.6 percent, played organized sports in 2022-2023, according to the National Survey of Children’s Health as reported by the Aspen Institute’s Project Play. High school sports participation reached a record 8.26 million athletes in 2024-25, per the NFHS.
Who founded Youth Sports Business Report?
Youth Sports Business Report was founded by Cameron Korab, a sports marketing veteran with more than a decade in the industry and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Korab also co-founded Vertical Sports, a sports marketing advisory serving brands across youth, college, and pro sports.
What does YSBR cover?
YSBR delivers original reporting and market intelligence on youth sports facilities, youth sports technology, sponsorship and brand partnerships, private equity and venture capital deals, NIL policy, coaching development, equipment and apparel, tournaments and events, and community sports initiatives. Readers include industry executives, investors, facility owners and operators, league administrators, and youth sports parents.
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- Newsletter: Subscribe to Youth Sports HQ, the most-read newsletter on the business of youth sports, delivering curated youth sports industry news and analysis to thousands of industry leaders every week.
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- Jobs: Browse the YSBR Youth Sports Job Board, the most comprehensive destination for careers in youth sports, with hundreds of active listings across facility management, league operations, coaching, sports technology, and marketing.
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Hosted by Cameron Korab, founder of Youth Sports Business Report, Jr. Sports Marketing features candid 1-on-1 conversations with the brands, athletes, leagues, and innovators building the future of youth sports. Each episode breaks down how the smartest brands are activating, building equity, and winning with youth sports families. If you’re an operator, founder, investor, or marketer trying to understand where this space is headed, this is your show.
Youth Sports Marketing Questions, Answered
Where can brands sponsor youth sports? Brands can sponsor youth sports through local leagues and clubs, tournaments and events, facilities and complexes, governing bodies, and national platform programs. Sponsoring a child’s own program is the most powerful entry point: 81 percent of parents say it captures their attention, outperforming TV, social media, and pro sports sponsorship, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study conducted by YouGov Sport.
How much does youth sports sponsorship cost? Youth sports sponsorship costs range from a few thousand dollars for a local league or team sponsorship to six and seven figures for regional facility naming rights and national platform programs. The environment is welcoming at every level: 84 percent of parents hold net positive sentiment toward brands sponsoring youth sports, with negative sentiment under 5 percent, per YouGov Sport research. Most brands start with a pilot activation, measure engagement, then scale.
What is the ROI of youth sports marketing? The data is striking: 80 percent of parents say they would choose the brand that sponsors their child’s youth sports program when comparing two similar products, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study by YouGov Sport. A 2026 EMARKETER and DICK’S Media survey found 84 percent of sports parents say that role influences their purchase decisions, and 60 percent spend more on game and practice days, driving loyalty across categories from dining to travel to automotive.
Ready to build a youth sports strategy? Vertical Sports is an Advisory+ delivering integrated expertise across all levels of sport. Youth, College, Pro. Every Fan, Every Level. Brands and youth sports organizations can reach the team at info@verticalsports.us.
