Gotta Get That Bag💰
Some athletes are absolutely making a killing in NIL, and that’s a credit to their own talent and ability…
The 2020s will go down as the decade when NIL (name, image, likeness) forever changed collegiate sports. The NCAA news headlines about this topic took off in 2019, and by 2021, college athletes were able to make money by advertising brands, selling merchandise, making paid appearances, signing autographs, etc.
No matter where you stand on this issue, they’ve opened Pandora’s box, and it will be hard to ever close it again. Some athletes are absolutely making a killing in NIL, and that’s a credit to their own talent and ability to make themselves marketable in this age of content creators and influencers.
Here are the top five college athletes with the highest NIL valuations in the NCAA.
UPDATED: On3 NIL Valuation Top 10💰
NIL 100: https://t.co/cBDfg0AgAf pic.twitter.com/dj7DWD4kJZ
— On3 (@On3sports) September 18, 2024
5. Quinn Ewers, Texas Longhorns Quarterback – $2.2 Million
An abdominal injury to Quinn Ewers last week may have started the Arch Manning era in Texas. But the season starter for the No. 1 team in CFB should be back soon, and he is still a top-five earner in NIL with his deals with Holy Kombucha, Leaf Trading Cards, Fortnite, Sonic, 7-Eleven, Wrangler, EA Sports, and more.
Expect Ewers to go high in the 2025 NFL draft as well.
Steve Sarkisian still believes Quinn Ewers can lead the Longhorns to a championship 🏆 pic.twitter.com/A50C4ewcm5
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) September 19, 2024
4. Arch Manning, Texas Longhorns Quarterback – $3.1 Million
The next generation of Mannings is here as Cooper’s son Arch Manning is going to make his first CFB start for No. 1 Texas this weekend. The sophomore is already an NIL star as his name is a brand all to itself with Peyton and Eli as his uncles.
But he runs more like his grandfather Archie did, which could make him the most dangerous Manning yet. In last week’s game against UTSA, Arch ripped off a 67-yard touchdown run and also threw four touchdown passes.
Listen, Arch Manning wasn’t perfect last week, and UTSA helped too, including a safety falling down on a TD.
But this throw? C’mon! pic.twitter.com/tfl2gQgBy1
— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) September 19, 2024
The specifics of Arch’s NIL deals have not been disclosed, but you can expect them to go up if he’s as good as advertised. Given he’s a Manning, that may be a lock.
3. Travis Hunter, Colorado Buffaloes Wideout/Corner – $3.1 Million
College football’s ironman, Travis Hunter is the rare two-way player who excels at both wide receiver and corner for Colorado. He figures to be a high NFL draft pick in 2025.
Hunter has signed NIL deals with Greenwood, a financial services company in Atlanta, and he has worked with several brands owned by Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Strahan. Hunter was also one of the cover athletes for the EA Sports College Football 25 video game.
I want you to watch this video and tell me with a straight face that Travis Hunter is a WR at the next level pic.twitter.com/Lu6BjFYqFa
— Clay Fink (@clay_fink) May 4, 2024
He clearly has an eye on his financial future as he’s also signed an NIL deal with NerdWallet, a financial company. With millions more in his near future, it will be interesting to see if Hunter is forced to choose between wideout or corner when he makes the NFL, or if he tries to follow in Coach Prime’s footsteps and do a little of both.
2. Livvy Dunne, LSU Tigers Gymnast – $4 Million
No one will ever confuse Livvy Dunne for Simone Biles, the gymnast GOAT in the modern era, but she is still the highest-earning female college athlete thanks to her expert timing and blonde bombshell looks.
Dunne began her college gymnastics career at LSU in 2020, and in that same year, her TikTok account blew up with videos of her personal life beyond the gym during COVID. Eventually, she became the most-followed NCAA athlete with over 10 million followers between TikTok and Instagram. Soon, she was a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model.
LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne for Sports Illustrated 📸 pic.twitter.com/xGNOx3lvyL
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) July 23, 2023
Dunne also has done endorsement deals for Grubhub, Bodyarmor, activewear brand Vuon, and American Eagle Outfitters. Dunne says she once received $500,000 for a single social media post.
Dunne is currently dating Pittsburgh Pirates pitching sensation Paul Skenes, making them one of sports’ biggest power couples.
She helped the Tigers win their first national championship last season and is coming back for one more year of college before what could easily be a successful modeling and advertising career.
1. Shedeur Sanders, Colorado Buffaloes Quarterback – $5.1 Million
College football quarterbacks dominate the NIL list, and the top of them all is Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, the talented son of his coach Deion Sanders. Shedeur Sanders’ stats are impressive the last two years as he’s thrown for 36 touchdowns to 5 interceptions despite often dealing in shootouts to compensate for his defense.
Sanders is expected to be a high NFL draft pick in 2025, and he made college football news this summer when he became the sport’s first collegiate athlete to sign a deal with Nike where he’ll get a shoe and his own line of apparel much like his superstar father had in the 1990s.
The Nike deal has pushed Sanders over $5 million in NIL deals as he’s previously done work with Gatorade and Beats by Dre.
SHEDEUR SANDERS WENT ALL OUT 😤
A school record for passing yards in his Colorado debut 🔥 pic.twitter.com/rKrsQ0oA11
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 2, 2023
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