Top 10 On3 NIL Valuations in the latest NIL 100
March Madness will come to a close next week, with both the men’s and women’s Final Fours slated for this weekend. Yet, there’s just one college basketball player in the new look On3 NIL 100.
There is plenty of NIL talent in the high school basketball ranks, though. Bronny James, the oldest son of NBA superstar LeBron James, had a strong performance in Tuesday night’s McDonald’s All-American Game. He touts marketing deals with Nike and Beats by Dre and is expected to make a college decision in the coming weeks.
Memphis signee Mikey Williams is also a star, with more than six million social media followers and a sneaker deal with Puma. A trio of college football quarterbacks also sit in the top 10 On3 NIL Valuations: Drake Maye, Bo Nix and Caleb Williams.
Here are the top 10 On3 NIL Valuations:
1. Bronny James
On3 NIL Valuation: $7.2 million
Social media followers: 12.7 million
With his father cheering him on from the sidelines Tuesday night in Houston, Bronny James showed he can play with some of the nation’s top basketball players. He finished the McDonald’s All-American Game with 15 points, going 5-for-8 from beyond the arc. As the the oldest son of LeBron James, Bronny will always be the most well-known athlete on campus. His name recognition and connections make him the most valuable athlete in On3’s NIL 100.
He also has yet to make his college decision. In the latest edition of the 2023 On3 150, James was named a five-star prospect and the No. 9 player in the country. Ohio State appears to be one of the top schools in his recruitment, along with Oregon and USC. Two-time NBA champion Kevin Durant recently said on a Boardroom podcast that he hopes the combo guard goes to college instead of going “disappearing for a year.” With more than 12 million social media followers, he’s invaluable to brands. Bronny has already signed NIL deals with Beats by Dre and PSD Underwear. He also inked a partnership with Nike back in October, joining the same sneaker brand as his father. At Tuesday night’s game, he was one of only two players not to wear adidas sneakers, instead representing Nike.
2. Arch Manning
On3 NIL Valuation: $3.7 million
Social media followers: 243,000
The grandson of Archie, son of Cooper and nephew of Peyton and Eli announced his commitment to Texas this past summer. Arch Manning enrolled earlier this year, marking the official start of the Manning era in Austin. He finished his career at Isidore Newman as the school’s leader in passing yards, passing touchdowns and total yardage. Now he is challenging Quinn Ewers for the starting job, a competition that Steve Sarkisian characterized as a real contest. The No. 1 ranked recruit in the 2023 class may not have the largest social media following, yet his name recognition for a freshman is uncommon. He also has the opportunity to partner with his superstar uncles in NIL ventures if he wants. With more than 240,000 social media followers, his brand and name recognition will only rise throughout his career at Texas. He has yet to publicly announce his first endorsement deal, but the quarterback will not have any problems finding opportunities.
3. Livvy Dunne
On3 NIL Valuation: $3.4 million
Social media followers: 11.2 million
If there’s one thing Livvy Dunne hasn’t shied away from, it’s the attention. The LSU gymnast is the most followed college athlete on social media. Fans disrupted her season-opening event at Utah with chants of “We want Livvy! Give us Livvy!” while athletes were trying to complete their routines. Most recently, the 20 year old promoted the artificial intelligence company Caktus AI. The brand has described itself as a way for students to spend less time working on “meaningless writing assignments.” LSU released a statement pointing out that the educational artificial intelligence tool could result in academic misconduct. Dunne is just as much a social media influencer as she is a college athlete. She also has notable partnerships with Vuori Clothing, EA Sports, Body Armor and Forever 21. With 11 million social media followers, she can guarantee brands will get unprecedented exposure on their product.
4. Mikey Williams
On3 NIL Valuation: $3.3 million
Social media followers: 6 million
Mikey Williams became the first American high school basketball player to sign a sneaker deal with a global footwear company. His multi-year deal with Puma at the age of 17 puts him on the same product team as other basketball stars like Breanna Stewart, Skylar Diggins-Smith, LaMelo Ball, Kyle Kuzma and Deandre Ayton. He’s also been used to promote Puma on social through the sportswear company Champs Sports. Represented by Excel Sports, Williams has inked other NIL partnerships with Cash App and LaceClips. On the court, he is a four-star combo guard in the 2023 class, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. Fans line up outside and around the gym to see him play in a game. Off the court, he takes countless selfies and photographs before and after games. Williams has signed with Memphis, where he will be playing for Penny Hardaway.
5. Caleb Williams
On3 NIL Valuation: $2.6 million
Social media followers: 275,000
Caleb Williams may just be the most marketable college football player. He recently wrapped up his first season in Los Angles. Since making the move to the West Coast more then a year ago, he has pieced together one of the strongest NIL resumes of any player in the country. Sure, he’s aligned with notable brands, such as Athletic Brewing Company, Fanatics, AT&T, Beats by Dre and AC+ION Water. But he is also developing into a fashion star. He wore an adidas x Gucci suit at the Heisman Ceremony. He recently signed a partnership with Alo Yoga, which describes itself as clothing for the studio, along with streetwear. When he was on spring break in Miami, he landed an invitation to walk the Hugo Boss fashion show. For all of the NIL success, Williams has accomplished more on the field. A win in the Pac-12 title game would have put USC in the College Football Playoff game. He finished his sophomore season ranked No. 1 in the country with 42 passing touchdowns and just five interceptions. The quarterback threw for 4,537 yards, while rushing for another 10 touchdowns.
6. Travis Hunter
On3 NIL Valuation: $1.7 million
Social media followers: 1.3 million
A former five-star prospect, the high school recruitment of Travis Hunter has been well documented. On early national signing day last year, the wide receiver and cornerback talent made the stunning decision to flip from Florida State to Jackson State. More than a year later, he’s still playing for Deion Sanders but has followed him out to Colorado. With over a million social media followers, he has multi-year deals with Celsius Energy and the Michael Strahan Brand. Hunter has also built a massive YouTube channel, which currently sits at 141,000 subscribers. Part of that is thanks to his transfer portal commitment, when he said he would announce his decision when his YouTube eclipsed 100,000 followers. Since he can pull in compensation from the page, it was a smart move to monetize his NIL.
7. Shedeur Sanders
On3 NIL Valuation: $1.5 million
Social media followers: 1.4 million
Shedeur Sanders continues to build his brand in unique ways. The former Jackson State quarterback has since transferred to Colorado, following his father, Deion Sanders, to the Pac-12. He’ll have two years of eligibility to play with the Buffaloes. He’s found plenty of success over the first 21 months of NIL, too. Sanders has launched his own barbecue sauce, the “#2 BBQ Sauce.” He became the BRADY brand’s first long-term ambassador. And he’s appeared in promotions across multiple Mercedes-Benz social media platforms. He also starred in a Super Bowl commercial for the yogurt company Oikos with his entire family. On the football field for Jackson State last year, the quarterback threw for 3,732 yards with 40 touchdowns and just six interceptions. With a Pac-12 fanbase now with its focus on Sanders, there’s little doubt his following is just starting to grow.
8. Drake Maye
On3 NIL Valuation: $1.5 million
Social media followers: 62,000
North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye‘s name was everywhere ahead of the Transfer Portal window’s opening. With multiple ACC coaches alleging unnamed coaching staffs and collectives of tampering, some expected Maye to be the name to watch in the portal. He ultimately decided to stay put in Chapel Hill, not leaving for what would have been a lucrative NIL package. The freshman finished his first season with 4,321 passing yards with 38 touchdowns and only seven interceptions. He’ll challenge Caleb Williams for the Heisman next season. And with more than 60,000 social media followers, there will be plenty of brands clamoring to strike an agreement with Maye. So far, he’s signed with Bose and Campus Mogul. The number of endorsement deals he inks could be on the rise since he signed with CAA for NIL representation this past fall.
9. Bo Nix
On3 NIL Valuation: $1.5 million
Social media followers: 187,000
Bo Nix has thrived in the name, image and likeness space. The one-time Auburn quarterback has cashed in thanks to the ability to monetize his publicity rights. His list of endorsement deals include Bose, Topps, Subway, The Duck Store, ONIT, Bojangels and Candy Digital. The Oregon star also has a deal with Division Street, which is the premier collective for Duck athletes. Nix announced his return to Eugene for the 2023 season in December. He threw for 27 touchdowns and just six interceptions while leading the Ducks to a 9-3 record in his first season in Eugene. He gelled quickly with offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham, who recently took the head coach job at Arizona State. Oregon head coach Dan Lanning brought in Will Stein to work with Nix. His valuation has seen a $746,000 growth over the last 10 weeks, too.
10. Hansel Enmanuel
On3 NIL Valuation: $1.4 million
Social media followers: 4.3 million
Former Northwestern State guard and Dominican Republic native Hansel Enmanuel received approval for an O-1 visa in October, which gives him the ability to pursue NIL deals in the U.S. through his newfound work authorization. He had already started to capitalize on NIL before the O-1 visa was granted, though. He signed with Gatorade but had to fly to Mexico City for the photo shoot to ensure he wasn’t in violation of his previous visa status to work in Mexico. His deal with the sports drink company was only a start to his prosperous NIL career. Enmanuel also holds partnerships with T-Mobile and adidas. He entered the transfer portal on March 20, and if he makes the jump to a high Division I school, the amount of eyes watching him could seriously rise.
About the On3 NIL Valuation
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.
About On3 NIL Valuation, Brand Value, Roster Value
While the algorithm includes deal data, it does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals athletes have completed to date, nor does it set an athlete’s NIL valuation for their entire career. The On3 NIL Valuation calculates the optimized NIL opportunity for athletes relative to the overall NIL market and projects out to as long as 12 months into the future.
The On3 NIL Valuation accounts for an athlete’s roster value and brand value. Roster value is the value an athlete has by being a member of his or her team at his or her school, which factors into the role of NIL collectives. Brand value factors in an athlete’s personal brand and the value it could bring to regional and national brands outside of the scope of NIL collectives.
The On3 NIL Valuation is publicly available. Performance, Influence, and Exposure 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.