Notre Dame’s Kyle Hamilton explains NIL purchase for his mom: ‘That felt really good’
If you’re firmly in the camp that believes college athletes should not be able to profit off of their name, image and likeness (NIL) because they will recklessly blow through money, this probably is not the article for you. Former Notre Dame safety and current member of the Baltimore Ravens Kyle Hamilton did the exact opposite.
Hamilton recently joined former Irish teammate Shaun Crawford on his new podcast, Varsity House Podcast, and the two defensive backs discussed a recent purchase Hamilton made with his NIL profits: a black Tesla for his mother, Jackie.
“It was mostly NIL money because I saved a lot of it,” Hamilton said of the purchase. “What are you going to spend money on in college other than food? I was DoorDashing a lot, but that’s about it. I put (most) of it in an investment account and wanted to do something good for my mom because moms sacrifice a lot for us. I’ve been wanting to do that for a while. Dad was a little salty about it, but I’ve got something for dad in the works too.
“So I have to take care of everybody, but I was happy to do that. Honestly, gifting something like that is better than anything I could ever get. That felt really good.”
That’s probably a pretty notable investment account as well considering Hamilton was one of the most recognizable faces playing for a top college football brand. Hamilton was the star of the Irish team during the first year under the new NIL rules; to borrow his father’s words, he was the “test case for Notre Dame.” The safety had a deal with Chipotle, co-hosted a podcast, and held a few camps, among other endeavors.
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Hamilton was drafted with an On3 NIL Valuation of $115,000, which did not crack the top 100 in the On3 College Football NIL Rankings. That’s relevant because while he wasn’t the flashiest athlete who engaged with many NIL suitors, he ended up as a Baltimore Ravens first-round NFL Draft pick with a rookie contract of approximately $16 million and a signing bonus estimated around $9 million.
The former Irish player already has aspirations beyond football too, as he knows even if he makes it in the NFL for a decade, his football career will have to end.
“I was a marketing major, so I’d like to be a chief marketing officer of a company or do something in sports marketing,” Hamilton told Crawford. “I feel like I have good people skills.”
But he’s not ruling out another career that involves communication.
“Maybe I’ll be on NFL Live or something. Who knows?”
