Texas Longhorns have most athletes in top 100 of NIL rankings. Who earns more?
Texas continues to develop a reputation as the premier university for NIL deals after rankings from On3, a website that calculates and ranks athletes' NIL values, show UT as the clear leader for most athletes in the top 100 for NIL value.
As NIL deals become more common, here are Longhorns making the list, what other schools are making waves in the NIL sphere and what brands are stepping in to make deals with Texas athletes:
Longhorns lead NIL rankings with 10 athletes
With 10 athletes included, nine of which are football players, Texas is the nation's clear NIL leader. Other teams on the list are Alabama (seven athletes), LSU (six), and USC and Ohio State (five each).
The 10 Texas players on the list include just one non-football player, as track-and-field and TikTok star Sam Hurley has used his online success to score lucrative NIL deals with brands like Ralph Lauren, DoorDash and GNC.
What brands are other Longhorns signing deals with?
Texas offensive lineman Kelvin Banks Jr., running back Jonathon Brooks and defensive lineman Bryon Murphy II all partnered with Bose in a series of online posts. However, it is no surprise the biggest NIL deals have been reeled in by UT’s quarterbacks.
Already a household name before he even stepped onto campus, five-star freshman Arch Manning was always likely to accrue a high NIL value. He currently ranks fourth in the top 100 and has an annual value of $2.8 million.
Manning’s biggest payday so far came after he inked a deal with trading card company Panini that landed him $102,500. However, Manning didn’t take a cent of that deal, and instead donated all of that money to the Ronald McDonald House Charities in Austin.
Meanwhile, starting quarterback Quinn Ewers slots into the top 100 at No. 24 and posts an annual value of $1 million on the NIL market.
Like Manning, Ewers has been active in the NIL market and in 2023 alone, he signed deals with 7-Eleven, HEYDUDE shoes and C4 energy. The exact value of these deals isn’t known, but it comfortably makes him one of the best-paid athletes in college sports.
Texas is second highest in total value
Of the schools with players in the top 100, Texas has the second highest value of players on the list as the 10 Longhorns featured have a combined value of approximately $10 million. That number is only topped by USC, which, despite only having five players on the list, boasts huge values from players like Bronny James and 2022 Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams — the first and fifth-ranked players on the list.
Other schools rounding out the top five include LSU, which has this year's Heisman winner and a $9.5 million value; CFP contender Alabama, at $5.9 million in value; and Ohio State, which has five players that have accumulated a $4.3 million value.
Beck Andrew Salgado covers trending topics in the Austin business ecosystem for the American-Statesman. To share additional tips or insights with Salgado, email Bsalgado@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Here's where UT ranks among schools generating the most in NIL value
