Top College Athletes by NIL Valuation
Ever since the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) introduced its name, image, and likeness (NIL) policy in July 2021, college sports have changed forever and for the better. The policy gives college athletes the opportunity to make money off their NIL.
So, with college athletes having the ability to build their own brands by making endorsement agreements and cashing in on social media, NIL has paved the way for them to become big earners. They're getting paid for signing autographs, making personal appearances, and endorsing political candidates.
Now that it pays to be an amateur, numerous college athletes have taken advantage of this opportunity to secure lucrative deals. Several students are even making millions already. But at the same time, many aren’t. The thing is, NIL deals range anywhere from very small amounts to huge sums of money. In the first year of NIL payments, college athletes reportedly earned an estimated $917 million, as per Opendorse.
Since details are sketchy due to most NIL deals not really reporting a dollar amount and going beyond just that, we’ll be taking a look at top US college athletes with NIL deals and more.
Bronny James, Leading the NIL Valuation
The son of NBA legend LeBron James, Bronny James is following in his father's footsteps. He has emerged as the most valuable NIL athlete, in part thanks to his enormous social media fan base, which collectively stands at 13.5 million. At $5.9 million, he has the highest NIL valuation. Late last year, James, along with his brother Bryce James, signed with the Klutch Sports Group, the agency founded by father James' longtime friend and agent Rich Paul, to pursue NIL endorsement and sponsorship opportunities.
One of the most well-known players in college athletics, James has brand deals with renowned audio company Beats by Dre and sportswear brand Nike (NKE), two brands his dad is also repped by. He also secured a notable appearance in a commercial for Fast X, the latest Fast and Furious movie. This collaboration highlights his on-screen presence and demonstrates the potential for college athletes to engage in ventures beyond their athletic pursuits.
Shedeur Sanders, Biggest Name in Trading Cards Space
University of Colorado's Shedeur Sanders has been gaining a lot of attention not only in the football world but also off the field, as evident from his social media following. The son of legendary NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, Sanders has 1.8 million followers on Instagram. This has made the Shedeur Sanders 2023 Bowman U Topps Now Football Card a hot commodity among enthusiasts, commanding a list price of $1,000.
This year, Sanders's NIL value has risen significantly from just $1.5 million at the beginning of 2023 to $4.6 million, as per On3. It has been thanks to all the deals with big brands Sanders has been signing, including with Gatorade, Mercedes-Benz, KFC, and yogurt producer Oikos. The Colorado Buffaloes' new quarterback is also participating in a nationwide campaign with clothing retailer Urban Outfitters, as part of which he took his teammates back-to-school shopping at the store's Boulder location. He was also among the athletes in the audio software company Beats NIL deal for its inaugural “Beats Elite” class.
Livvy Dunne, Top Female NIL Earner
Olivia Dunne is known as the “most followed NCAA athlete on social media,” with total followers exceeding 12 million collectively on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. Originally from Hillsdale Abeka Academy, she competed at the 2016 and 2017 P&G Championship as well as the 2017 U.S. Classic, besides qualifying for the 2020 Nastia Liukin Cup. Dunne is just as successful off the field, having inked several big sponsorships from American Eagle, Plant Fuel, Body Armor (KO), Vuori Clothing, Chipotle, and Bartleby. She has also worked with ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and Motorola.
The Louisiana State University (LSU) gymnast is the top female NIL earner in the nation, having a valuation of $3.2 million. Earlier this year, she revealed that she could make as much as $500K from a single post. Most recently, she made an appearance in a ManningCast commercial and, before that, entered into an exclusive NIL deal with Leaf Trading Cards. Additionally, Accelerator Active Energy became the first brand to do NIL deals through the Livvy Fund, which aims to help LSU female athletes with NIL deals.
Arch Manning, Leveraging NIL for Charity
Unlike the top 3 NIL college athletes, Arch Manning only has 204K followers on Instagram. But what he shares with others on this list is that Manning’s family plays a role in his fame. He is the nephew of Super Bowl champion QBs Peyton and Eli Manning, and the grandson of Hall of Fame quarterback Archie Manning. Manning has an NIL valuation of $2.8 million.
The Texas Longhorns freshman QB has an exclusive brand deal with the collectibles company Panini America. It was Manning’s first publicly known NIL agreement since entering college. That deal involved him autographing an extremely rare one-of-one Prizm Black card that was auctioned off for $102,500 in July, which was later donated to charity. “I’m donating 100% of the proceeds from my trading card to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Texas,” said Manning. He released seven other trading cards, including the Prizm Silver cards, Burnt Orange Cracked Ice, and Arch Manning Prizm Gold, which immediately sold out.
Caleb Williams, Sharing the NIL Wealth with Teammates
With a total following of 356K across Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram, the University of Southern California QB is seen as a generational NFL prospect. He may not be the top NIL earner with a valuation of $2.8 million, but Caleb Williams has managed to secure several brand deals, including United Airlines (UAL), Alo, Athletic Brewing Company, Fanatics, Neutrogena, AT&T, PlayStation, and Beats by Dre.
After doing national TV commercials with Wendy's, Nissan, and Dr. Pepper, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner continues to rack up impactful NIL deals. Most recently, he signed a NIL deal with food delivery service Postmates. Similar to his past deals with Ac+ion Water and Beats by Dre, he shares the Postmates deal with his teammates. Williams, along with former USC quarterback Matt Leinart, with whom he starred in a Wendy commercial, founded an arcade-style game called “Hall of GOATs” that is set to release early next year.
Travis Hunter, Racking up Partnerships via NIL
Both an offense and defense player, the University of Colorado player has amassed a following of 1.9 million on social media, has a successful YouTube channel, and a $2.2 million NIL valuation. Travis Hunter entered the 2023 college season as a highly touted NFL prospect at Colorado and has endorsements with Celsius Energy Drink and 7-Eleven.
In October this year, he partnered with American Eagle and has previously worked with other college athletes like Livvy Dunne and CJ Stroud. Hunter made the announcement on his Instagram page, showing off the clothing. Additionally, Hunter has signed NIL deals with the football equipment brands NXTRND and Waterland, a company specializing in making fishing sunglasses. Coach Deion Sanders told a new publication that rival schools have been attempting to poach him via lucrative NIL deals. “People offered Travis Hunter a bag -- about $1.5 million to try to lure him and buy him out of the transfer portal,” revealed Sanders.
Angel Reese, Setting the Standard for NIL Capitalization
With a $1.7 million valuation, Reese is one of just two female athletes in the NIL top 10 earners and is setting the standard for athletes in women’s sports, capitalizing on NIL deals. The Louisiana State University hooper, who led her team to the 2023 title, has a strong social media presence, having 5.2 million followers across all the platforms.
Reese has secured deals with top brands such as Tampax, PlayStation Airbnb, Coach, Amazon Merch on Demand, McDonald’s, Sparkling Ice, Xfinity, Wingstop, Outback Steakhouse, and Intuit TurboTax (INTU). On top of that, she has appeared in ads for Amazon and Pepsi’s Starry. Last month, Reese became Reebok’s first major NIL deal signed by Shaquille O’Neal in his new role as the president of basketball operations at the shoe and athletic apparel company. She was also among athletes involved in the NIL deal promoting Dwayne Johnson's energy drink, ZOA, on social media platforms.
Bo Nix, The Oregon Sensation’s NIL Journey
The senior quarterback for the Oregon Ducks, Bo Nix, has a NIL valuation of $1.5 million and 225k total followers on social media. Nix has signed NIL deals with Bojangles and Celsius. As part of his agreement with Kendall Auto Group, he is to receive a new Toyota SUV. Nix was also one of the athletes the convenience store chain 7-Eleven inked endorsement contracts with as part of its inaugural “Cleat Crew” program to raise funds for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals.
Considered one of the top players in the nation, Nix signed his first-ever NIL deal in 2021, which was with sweet tea maker Milo's Tea Company. The same year, he signed another deal with a trading rights company, Topps. Then came agreements with fast food chain Bojangles, digital collectible company Candy Digital, and audio equipment brand Bose.
J.J. McCarthy, Thriving NIL Ventures
Despite having just 291K followers on social media platforms, the junior quarterback for the Michigan Wolverines football team has gained a NIL valuation of $1.4 million. In the NIL arena, J.J. McCarthy has signed agreements with several brands, with his latest one with Los Angeles-based yoga company Alo Yoga. He has also partnered with the likes of Bose, Essentia Water, The M Den, and Dunkin.
In addition to business ventures, McCarthy has also been involved in charity through his 'JJ For the Kids Foundation,’ which collaborates with children's hospitals nationwide. He has committed to donating a portion of his NIL earnings to charity. Recently, it was revealed that he has also been donating some of his NIL earnings to his teammates.
Spencer Rattler, Going Beyond the Dollars
The star quarterback of South Carolina's Football team, Spencer Rattler, is valued at $1.4 million, having inked deals with Leaf trading cards and Raising Canes. As part of NIL deals, Rattler has also signed autographs at a minor league baseball game and hosted meet-and-greets at a local car wash. His biggest deal to date has been with a local Mercedes-Benz dealership. Interestingly, as part of this deal, he got to rock a new G-Wagon.
When it comes to NIL valuation; Jayden Daniels, Sam Hartman, Michael Penix Jr. Drake Maye, Bryce James, Marvin Harrison Jr., Hansel Enmanuel, Evan Stewart, Carson Beck, Dillon Gabriel, Flau'jae Johnson, Jordan Travis, Nico Iamaleava, Quinn Ewers, Jared McCain, and Drew Allar are other college athletes whose having a valuation of $1 million or above, according to On3's proprietary NIL algorithm, which is based on NIL-deal data, performance, influence and exposure.
Concluding Thoughts
As we saw, college athletes and brands both are taking full advantage of NIL rights. This makes sense, given that signing NIL deals while playing college sports offers several benefits for athletes, ranging from financial opportunities and business building to community engagement, career preparation, and entrepreneurial freedom.
But it's interesting that these agreements go beyond just the social media advertisement or compensation in dollars. For instance, Funderburk Family McDonald's partnered with Joe Milton to sell the “Milton Meal” in Tennessee, and Penn State sophomore quarterback Drew Allar joined hands with Kellogg's Frosted Flakes to present a $30,000 donation to Pennsylvania middle schools with help from Tony the Tiger.
So, the NIL mania is clearly going strong, helping college athletes gain compensation, endorsements, sponsorships, branding opportunities, and financial empowerment while allowing brands to employ different marketing initiatives and reach a wider audience. It is still the beginning, though, and as the landscape develops, we will see more clarification from states and universities regarding NIL rights, and more athletes will get to take advantage of more lucrative and diverse financial opportunities.
