Ohio State's Marvin Harrison Jr. signs NIL deal with Mark Wahlberg Chevrolet

Nakos updated headshotby:Pete Nakos04/06/23

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Marvin Harrison Jr. continues to methodically craft his NIL approach.

The Ohio State wide receiver is one of the most marketable college football players in the country. He has not rushed into the space, however, making sure football remains the focus. An ambassador for the Monarc robotic quarterback, the partnership does not include a cash component.

He is now driving around a new car, courtesy of Mark Wahlberg Chevrolet of Columbus. The star receiver signed with the dealership at the end of February and received the keys to a Chevrolet Tahoe. The son of NFL Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison, he was a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award this past season.

Harrison is the fifth Ohio State player to join Wahlberg’s NIL program.

“We’re very excited about the deal,” general manager Brian Gilmore told On3 on Thursday. “Obviously, Marvin’s a big name for us. He’s also a great kid. He’s close friends with a couple of our kids, so that’s how the deal came about. Great name recognition for us.

“He liked it because we don’t smother our kids and ask them to do too much. That side was very important to him. He’s a great kid and he’s so concentrated on football. We didn’t want to take away from that.”

Details of partnership with Mark Wahlberg Chevrolet

As part of the agreement, Harrison will post a couple times on his social media and make an appearance before the fall. Gilmore said the dealership places an emphasis on making sure the partnerships don’t suck up too much time. They’ve partnered with athletes for charity work in the past.

Harrison had 77 catches for 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2022. He’s started to take advantage of his marketability, recently launching a memorabilia website.

The 6-foot-4, 205-pound receiver has partnered with the Ohio State-driven Cohesion Foundation to do charity work with the Ronald McDonald House. He’ll also be at The Foundation‘s spring festival later this month.

Working with Mark Wahlberg Chevrolet, Harrison can monetize his NIL rights while not losing time to football.

“It’s super neat,” Gilmore said of working with Ohio State athletes. “We’ve actually gotten really close with their families over the years. It’s really been a great experience for all of us. We’ve been very selective — we talk to the families before we enter any partnership. The parents are very involved. By doing it that way, we haven’t had any problems. They like how we handle it.”

Marvin Harrison Jr.’s On3 NIL Valuation

Harrison has seen significant growth on his social media platforms since his breakout season. The receiver has more than 350,000 followers, which is expected to grow ahead of his junior season.

He has a $1.3 million On3 NIL Valuation, which ranks in the top 10 of college football. It also ranks No. 12 in the On3 NIL 100, which is the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation. He’s the most valuable NIL athlete on Ohio State’s campus, too.

The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. A proprietary algorithm, the On3 NIL Valuation calculates an athlete’s NIL value using dynamic data points targeting three primary categories: performance, influence and exposure.

The On3 NIL Valuation is publicly available. Ratings along with the athlete’s personal Brand Value Index and Roster Value Index are available only to the athlete in the “Athlete Verified” private dashboard on the On3 Athlete Network.