LOOK: USC quarterback Caleb Williams lands interesting new NIL deal
It didn’t take long after landing in Los Angeles for Caleb Williams to ink a new NIL deal. Beats by Dre tagged Williams in a Twitter post Friday evening that showed the USC quarterback on a football field wearing a pair of the company’s headphones.
“Welcome to LA and the Beats family,” the post read. “Let’s get it.”
Williams recently announced his decision to transfer to the Trojans on Tuesday after playing one season at Oklahoma. He joins Lincoln Riley, who coached him in 2021 with the Sooners.
The quarterback was ranked as the No. 9 overall recruit coming out of high school in 2021 according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. Alabama, Clemson and Georgia are a few of the many teams that offered him a scholarship.
Williams decision to enter the transfer portal on Jan. 3 prompted a second recruitment of the star. NIL played a big part role in that process, with one school even offering him $1 million to play for them.
The Trojan quarterback has an NIL Valuation of $427,000 according to On3. That ranks him 16th on the NIL 100 list and seventh among all college football players. He has a combined 184,000 followers between Twitter and Instagram.
Caleb Williams began his true freshman season at Oklahoma as the backup quarterback to Spencer Rattler. When Rattler struggled to start the season, however, Williams took the reigns of the offense.
After a couple of appearances in mop up duty, Williams saw his first significant playing time in the Red River Rivalry against Texas. He led the Sooners back from 21 points down — the largest comeback in the rivalry’s history — to claim a 55-48 victory. That was just the beginning of what would be an impressive season.
He tossed six touchdowns against Texas Tech, setting a Sooners true freshman record. The quarterback finished the year with 1,912 yards passing, 27 total touchdowns and four interceptions. Williams played out the season with his team, leading them to an Alamo Bowl victory against Oregon. He went 21-of-27 passing for 242 yards and three touchdowns in that game.
With all the buzz surrounding him, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Caleb Williams land more NIL deals before the 2022 season. USC is set to kick of the year on Sept. 3 against the Rice Owls.