Ryan Knudson

That's our colleague Harriet Ryan.

She's an investigative reporter based in Los Angeles, where high school football is a very big deal.

And for a long time, Harriet's been hearing rumors that high school players there were getting paid under the table.

Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power.

I'm Ryan Knudson.

It's Friday, January 16th.

Coming up on the show, inside the black market for high school football players.

This story is about a young man named Philip Bell III, whose situation came to light in court following a tense custody battle.

Our colleague Harry was able to piece together Bell's story via court records and interviews with friends, relatives, and others who knew his family.

Bell himself didn't comment for this story.

Bell is a wide receiver, and he grew up in the Sacramento area.

Bell's parents divorced when he was a baby, and he was raised with help from his grandparents.

Pretty early on, it was clear that Bell was going to be a football phenom.

Here's a clip from a highlight reel.

Bell was so good, he got his first D1 college scholarship offer when he was in eighth grade.

Here's Bell in a Day in the Life video from YouTube.

I feel like it's going to be a good game.

So I feel like every game day, be regular.

By the time he was in high school, Bell got on the radar of scouts in Southern California.

But not just scouts from colleges.