The breakout of NIL deals in recent years have truly reshaped the landscape of college sports. Athletes have the opportunity to make as much if not more than rookie contracts would pay them in professional sports. That is causing more and more players to stay in college longer and makes transferring to bigger name schools more worthwhile in the transfer portal. Heading into 2024 and further, the contracts and sponsors will continue to rise and increase. Here are the top five NIL deals heading into the next college football season.
No. 5 – Marvin Harrison Jr, WR, Ohio State – $1.4 Million
The two-time All-American is a dominant force on the field for Ohio State. There are not many people in the sport where a 50/50 ball is more like a 75/25 ball because Harrison Jr. is going to go get every ball. In his last two seasons, he has had 77 and 67 receptions for 1,263 and 1,211 yards and 14 touchdowns in each year. There were rumors floating around that Harrison, who hasn’t committed to the NFL Draft yet, could be in for a spike in NIL deals that would rival a rookie contract in the NFL — only time will tell.
No. 4 – Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado – $2.3 Million
Travis Hunter is truly a unicorn. He was a five-star recruit who was brought into Colorado by Deion Sanders to be a cornerback. He has since developed as one of the best two-way players the sport has ever seen. Before his injury early in the season against Colorado State where he punctured a lung, Hunter was being eyed as the Ohtani of football. He will be back with Colorado this season as will another guy on this list. He ended the season with 57 receptions for 721 yards and five touchdowns. He also had 22 tackles with three interceptions.
No. 3 – Caleb Williams, QB, USC – $2.7 Million
Caleb Williams could follow the same path as Marvin Harrison Jr.’s rumors have been. Williams and his dad have been on record saying that he could stay in college for another season with the amount of money he is making to avoid a toxic situation with the team that is drafting at the No. 1 overall pick, which is where Williams is projected to go. He threw for 3,633 yards and 30 touchdowns with five interceptions this season which was a slight step back from his numbers in his sophomore season.
No. 2 – Arch Manning, QB, Texas – $2.8 Million
Arch Manning was the highest and most recruited quarterback out of high school last season and immediately came in making a lot of money. Dylan Raiola will look to follow in his footsteps this year. Manning chose to go to Texas and backed up Quinn Ewers for most of this season. There were rumors that he was transferring after not being the replacement on the field when Ewers went down with an injury last season. If he does in fact choose to transfer, he should have his pick of where to go.
No. 1 – Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado – $4 Million
Shedeur Sanders committed with Travis Hunter to Jackson State when his dad was the coach there. After Deion made his way to Colorado, so did his star athletes including his son. Sanders has one of the highest valuations in the entire sport and will continue to after announcing he was forgoing the NFL Draft this season. He ended this season with 3,230 yards and 27 touchdowns with only three interceptions. He will look to one-up his season this year with the next.
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