The NIL Top 10: Who are the highest-paid college athletes?

The pay-for-play era of college sports is less than four years old, 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 Iowa’s Caitlin Clark (about $3.8 million per year) and USC’s Bronny James (about $5.9 million at its peak), recently turned professional, leaving openings at the top for 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 turn of 2025:

1. Arch Manning ($6.7 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 doubled in recent months because with Ewers turning pro, Manning will officially be the Longhorns starting quarterback when the new season kicks off in August. 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.

2. Cooper Flagg ($5.9 million)

An 18-year-old freshman at Duke University, Flagg saw his NIL value skyrocket this past summer when he put on a show at Team USA’s basketball camp in Las Vegas. Scrimmaging against the likes of NBA legends LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis before they competed in the 2024 Paris Olympics, Flagg held his own with dazzling three-pointers, put-back layups and even a couple of dunks. 

The Newport, Maine, native has continued to dazzle during his six months playing for one of college basketball’s most prominent and recognizable brands—Duke—and is projected to be the top pick in July’s 2025 NBA Draft. Flagg has inked lucrative sponsorship deals with New Balance and Fanatics, starred in ads for Gatorade and Cort Furniture, and recently partnered with the NIL Store to mass-produce replicas of his high school jersey.

3. AJ Dybantsa ($5.4 million)

The third-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.

4. Livvy Dunne ($4.5 million)

A fifth-year senior gymnast at LSU, Dunne is completely self-made when it comes to her NIL value. Unlike the college football and basketball players surrounding her on this list, the 22-year-old uneven bars specialist built her NIL value almost exclusively on social media instead of pay-for-play, roster bonuses and the like from her school. 

Dunne’s nearly 14 million combined social follower count is triple anyone else in our NIL Top 10 and has earned her countless endorsement deals from major brands including Nautica, Body Armor, American Eagle, Forever 21, Grubhub and Vuori.

5. Carson Beck ($4.4 million)

Once thought to be a first-round pick in the upcoming 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.

6. Jeremiah Smith ($4.2 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 he makes from Ohio State boosters through its 1870 Society, plus partnerships with Lululemon, Battle Sports, American Eagle and Nintendo.

7. DJ Lagway ($3.6 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 enters training camp 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.

8. Bryce Underwood ($3.2 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 compete for Michigan’s starting quarterback position as a 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.

9. Mark Sears ($2.6 million)

The senior University of Alabama basketball star has lived up to the preseason hype, putting the Crimson Tide in position to make a second consecutive run to the NCAA tournament’s Final Four. The 22-year-old point guard is one of the faces of this year’s college basketball season after leading Alabama to a surprise run to the 2024 Final Four last April. Sears has been on fire since the turn of 2025, averaging 19 points and five assists in the loaded SEC Conference. He’s also one of five finalists for the Bob Cousy Award, given to the country’s top point guard. His NIL partners include Athlete’s Thread, Powerade, Starbucks, New Era, Beats by Dre and Yea Alabama.

10. RJ Davis ($2.5 million)

Another basketball star from a blueblood program, Davis has been an impact player for the North Carolina Tar Heels since he first stepped on campus back in 2020. Now 23 years old and the clear leader of an up-and-down UNC team fighting to make the NCAA Tournament, Davis has a long list of NIL partners that include JBL Audio, Hanes, Wingstop, Keurig, Reebok and Marriott, among other major 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.”