Jackson Holliday's brother could overshadow him again with massive NIL deal

Jackson Holliday's brother, Ethan Holliday, could garner even more attention than the Baltimore Orioles infielder this season.
Baltimore Orioles v Colorado Rockies
Baltimore Orioles v Colorado Rockies / Dustin Bradford/GettyImages
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Potential No. 1 overall pick Ethan Holliday is the brother of Baltimore Orioles star Jackson Holliday and son of longtime MLB outfielder Matt Holliday. It's an entire family full of baseball stars.

Jackson Holliday was a former top-overall pick of the Orioles and, thus, a No. 1 overall prospect. While Holliday struggled during his first big league stint, he was eventually called back up after making strides in Triple-A Norfolk, and performed well down the stretch for the O's. Holliday is considered a key part of the Orioles future, and given their lack of free agent spending this winter, they are counting on him.

Holliday finished his first season with just a .565 OPS. That leaves a lot to be desired, but Holliday did improve quite a bit in the latter stages of the season. In fact, his brother Ethan may follow in his footsteps.

Ethan Holliday signs an NIL package with Adidas

Ethan Holliday is in his senior year at Stillwater High School and already has an NIL deal. Holliday is committed to Oklahoma State University, assuming he doesn't decide to take his talents to MLB first. An NIL deal with Adidas is a good place to start. Ethan became the first baseball NIL athlete to sign with the brand earlier this week.

"Following in the footsteps of his brother, rising MLB star Jackson Holliday, Ethan’s partnership with adidas marks a bold step in the brand’s investment in the future of baseball, positioning him as a key figure shaping the sport's next generation and cementing the Hollidays as part of the three-stripe family," Adidas wrote in a statement.

Holliday followed in his family's footsteps, as his brother Jackson also sports Adidas at the professional level – though Ethan has him beat given the NIL association.

“As a high schooler, you don’t really think about that. Once you get an opportunity to actually do it, it’s pretty surreal,” Holliday told USA TODAY Sports. “The family aspect – Jackson got a chance to sign with Adidas after he was drafted and now being a high schooler and being able to do it, it’s pretty crazy. I’m just really thankful and blessed to be a part of it and wouldn’t want to be part of anything else."

In terms of how Ethan Holliday compares to his brother, it's too early to tell. However, he does have a larger build than Jackson at 6-4, and his exit velocity at the plate has already been clocked around 111 mph, which is...just nasty.

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