Growing collective contracts and sponsorship deals have university athletes raking in record paydays.
The pay-for-play era of college sports is approaching its fourth anniversary, yet its impact on schools and student-athletes has so far been nothing short of revolutionary. Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) earns thousands of university-aged sportspeople six-figure salaries each year and makes millionaires of some six dozen more student-athletes. Big-name college players have cited the deals as reasons to stay in school an extra year or two instead of turning professional at a younger age.
Hundreds more top-tier athletes are cashing in even before stepping on campus, with annual valuations that dwarf the average American worker’s salary. More high schoolers with the talent to jump directly to pro sports are instead choosing to attend college, thanks to NIL.
“It’s created legitimate avenues for young athletes to leverage their personal brands,” explained Dave Meluni, an associate professor who teaches NIL classes in Syracuse University’s Sport Management program. “These new avenues add real value to the high school and college sports landscapes. It’s hard to overstate what a game-changer NIL has been for players, teams, schools and organizations, almost entirely for the better.”
Some of the most valuable college NIL-earners of all time, including University of Colorado’s Shadeur Sanders ($6.5 million) and Duke University’s Cooper Flagg (at least $6 million), recently turned professional, leaving openings at the top heading into the fall of 2025. Here at Volt, we put together information from industry-leading sources, expert insights and our research to craft our NIL Top 10 heading into the second half of the year:
1. Arch Manning ($7.1 million)
The two-year backup quarterback for one of the country’s best college football teams, Manning’s marketability comes in both his talent and his last name. The grandson of NFL Hall-of-Famer Archie Manning and nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning, Arch has been on national football scouts’ radars since middle school and was a top recruit coming out of high school in 2023.
He’s proven his worth at the college level in limited action behind University of Texas teammate Quinn Ewers, but the branding behind his last name has ultimately made Manning a more NIL-marketable player. His valuation has skyrocketed in recent months because with Ewers turning pro, Manning will officially be the Longhorns starting quarterback when the new season kicks off in August. He’s also projected to be a top pick in next year’s NFL Draft, assuming his NIL offerings don’t entice him to return to Texas for his senior season. Beyond the millions that Texas reportedly paid him to join its team, Manning’s portfolio includes a sports-card partnership with Panini America, a $50,000 deal to promote the new EA Sports NCAA 2025 video game and a pair of major deals in recent months with Red Bull and Uber. Look for Manning’s NIL value to continue growing this fall as the Longhorns’ season progresses.
2. AJ Dybantsa ($5.4 million)
The second-ranked player on our NIL list has yet to suit up for a college game. Still, Dybantsa, who is headed for BYU in the fall, is already cashing in on his potential. The Cougars paid a record $5 million to outbid basketball bluebloods Kansas, Alabama and North Carolina on the recruiting trail for what likely will be just one year of Dybantsa’s services before the highly touted prospect jumps to the NBA. The projected future college and pro basketball star has also inked deals with Nike and Redbull.
@nike The future is now. Top player in the nation, AJ Dybantsa, brought the whole city out for the Nike Future Game. #NikeBasketball ♬ original sound – Nike
3. Carson Beck ($5.1 million)
Once thought to be a first-round pick in April’s NFL Draft, Beck instead decided to stay in college for the 2025 season after an injury-plagued 2024 led to underwhelming results on the field. Beck enjoyed moderate success as the starting quarterback for the powerhouse Georgia Bulldogs the past two seasons, but decided in January to transfer to the University of Miami for his fifth and final year of college football.
The 23-year-old is a household name in the sport — he also played sparingly in Georgia’s national championship seasons in 2021 and 2022. But when Miami came knocking with a reported offer of more than $4 million, it was apparently too good to refuse. Beck has earned a dozen or more endorsement deals from brands including Powerade, Beats by Dre, Leaf Trading Cards, Chipotle and Zero FG Energy. He’s starred in ads for Morgan and Morgan law firm and Airstar Charter, among others.
4. Jeremiah Smith ($4.4 million)
Ohio State’s sophomore-to-be proved himself as one of the country’s best wide receivers in 2024, just his first year of college football. A Heisman Trophy favorite for the upcoming season, Smith recently turned down a reported $4.5 million offer to hit the transfer portal to remain in Columbus and will likely earn endorsement deals that will soon eclipse that number.
For now, Smith’s value lies in the reported $2.5 million he makes from Ohio State boosters through its 1870 Society, plus partnerships with Lululemon, Battle Sports, American Eagle and Nintendo.
5. LaNorris Sellers ($4.2 million)
Sellers was one of college football’s best kept secrets heading into last season. But when he began torching opposing defenses in one of the country’s best conferences, the University of South Carolina Gamecocks couldn’t hide its young quarterback from the national spotlight any longer.
Now, Sellers is a Heisman favorite heading into just his second season as a starter. Last season’s success and Sellers’ hype heading into the fall left South Carolina with two options: pay up or risk losing their star quarterback to another school willing to open its checkbook. The Gamecocks obliged, helping to nearly triple its quarterback’s NIL valuation in a span of just eight months.
Besides a reported nearly $3 million Sellers earns from university boosters and a sleek coupe gifted from a prominent local Mercedes dealer, he’s inked endorsement deals with Cheez-It and Collegiate Legends.
@cheezit We heard LaNorris Sellers is a big TV guy so we put his face on a screen no one in Orlando could miss for the @Cheez-It Citrus Bowl #feelinthecheeziest ♬ original sound – Cheez-It
6. DJ Lagway ($4.1 million)
The University of Florida struggled tremendously on the gridiron during the first half of last season. Then Lagway, just a freshman, took over the starting quarterback job and guided the Gators to a 5-2 record to finish their 2024 campaign.
Lagway will enter the fall as Florida coach Billy Napier’s last hope to salvage his job in a loaded SEC conference, but the folks in Gainesville believed enough in the 19-year-old Texas native to offer a $3 million NIL package through sales of personal-branded merchandise. Lagway’s other partners include Nintendo, Gatorade, Hey Dude and Pepsi.
7. Bryce Underwood ($4.0 million)
A bidding war for the nation’s top-ranked high school quarterback ended with the University of Michigan outracing LSU, reportedly paying up to $12 million over four years, for 17-year-old Bryce Underwood’s services. Getting there took the likes of Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle and the third richest man in the world, to pitch in.
Underwood is expected to be Michigan’s starting quarterback as a true freshman this season, but regardless of what happens on the field, he’s already wealthier than 99% of college athletes. Underwood’s sponsors include Equity Sports, P3 Sport Science, Barstool Sports, Hollister and a school-sponsored namesake merchandise site.
8. Garrett Nussmeier ($4.0 million)
After losing the Bryce Underwood recruiting battle to Michigan, LSU took extra steps to make sure it didn’t also lose its current quarterback. The Tigers gave Nussmeier, entering his fifth season with the team, a cushy $2+ million package to stay in Baton Rouge for what’s almost certain to be his final year before going pro.
Nussmeier’s lofty NIL value, despite leading LSU to a pedestrian 9-and-4 record last season, is a result of both longevity and a well-known last name in football circles. Nussmeier’s dad, Doug, is a longtime offensive coordinator in both college and the NFL. His endorsements include deals with Powerade and EA Sports.
9. Cade Klubnik ($3.6 million)
Clemson’s quarterback returns for his third season as a starter with both the Heisman Trophy and an NCAA National Championship on his mind. After an up-and-down season that saw Klubnik’s Tigers eke out an ACC title then falter in the first round of the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff, Klubnik decided to forgo the NFL Draft for one last shot at college glory.
Clemson responded in kind, upping Klubnik’s NIL through the school’s athletic booster collective. He also counts Armani Beauty, EA Sports and Onit Athlete among his several sponsors.
10. Drew Allar ($3.5 million)
Allar has perhaps the two most influential factors for landing a spot on the NIL Top 10 working in his favor. First, he’s a quarterback, and second, his team is favored to compete for a national championship. The Penn State signal-caller led the Nittany Lions to the semifinals of last season’s College Football Playoff and will start his senior season this fall with nearly the same team largely still intact.
Allar earns most of his NIL money through Penn State’s collective, Happy Valley United, but has also inked sponsorship deals with EA Sports, Hulu, Tesla, Bose and Urban Outfitters, among other brands.
No looking back
Ask any scholar, agent, expert, athlete or coach about NIL, and favorability toward the new program will almost certainly be mixed, but mostly positive. Many agree that some form of player compensation is necessary, but a smaller group argues that NIL in its current state is out of control, turning amateur sports into the Wild West. One claim just about everyone will agree on: NIL, in some form or fashion, is here to stay.
“It’s well-established in the college sports landscape at this point, and frankly something that had been overdue for a long time,” Meluni said in a phone interview with Volt.
Instead of fighting back, most successful leaders in sport are embracing the new reality. Kelvin Sampson, head men’s basketball coach at the University of Houston, is the latest example.
“A big part of the conversation with recruits now is NIL, and as a program, you have to make that a priority if you want to land and retain top players,” Sampson told Volt. “The relationships and what the university offers from an academic standpoint will always be important, but the NIL piece is now one of the driving factors in how players decide where they’re going to play.”
Sampson, who boasts a 264-79 record in 12 seasons at UH — including an appearance in the 2021 Final Four — said the Cougars’ men’s basketball team contracts support staff to help players understand financial literacy and budget their NIL expenses wisely. He acknowledged that most of his players earning NIL checks are seeing more money than at any other point in their lives to date and that managing it correctly will be “important for their future.”
“Not everyone goes on to play professional basketball,” he said. “We want to help all of our guys that desire to go pro make it, but the reality is it doesn’t always happen that way. So we have to put them in the best position for what else is next, and having some NIL savings can be a great way to start on the right track.”
This is an updated version of an earlier article first published in 2024; the athletes list of top NIL athletes for 2024-25 was:
This article was originally published on March 19, 2025.
