Updated Top-5 NIL Valuations in USC's 2024 class

The On3 NIL Valuation is an index that looks to set the standard market value for both high school and college-level athletes. The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

The NIL valuation is comprised of a number of dynamic data points that focus on two primary factors – an athlete’s social media presence and their level of athletic performance.

A base valuation is generated from the number of followers on each social media platform an athlete has (Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok). Each platform is weighted differently based on the number of marketing dollars that brands and advertisers typically spend on each.

Here are the top-5 On3 NIL valuations among the 16 commitments in the USC Trojans 2024 class.

1. WR Xavier Jordan – NIL Valuation $133K

The No. 1 NIL value in USC’s 2024 class. Jordan has several large factors to his advantage that allow him to be a potential major benefactor of NIL opportunities. One of the biggest reasons is Jordan plays a position, WR, that is often times one of the more popular positions for fans to cheer on. The skill players, especially ones with the ball in their hands get lots of love. It’s a flashy position. Him being ranked as a top-100 prospect at a premier position gives him major NIL upside. Jordan also benefits from being in Los Angeles and at a high level football program that gets plenty of buzz year in and year out. Being a top prospect from a popular program does favors on social media. Jordan has just shy of 9K social media followers, giving him more value. Jordan is now ranked just outside the top-100 high School NIL valuations at No. 107.

2. CB Marcelles Williams – NIL Valuation $132K

Williams is one the top ranked players in the country while playing for one of the best programs in the country in St. John Bosco. There are lots of eyes on Williams during the season and his social presence continues to grow. He is ranked as the No. 102 overall prospect in the class, which will continue to give him a boost in the NIL department. Since committing, he has seen his value increase overall, but he did see a slight decrease in the past few weeks. I do believe we will see him rise again though before arriving at USC.

3. EDGE Kameryn Fountain – NIL Valuation $122K

Fountain saw a nice increase in both the industry rankings and NIL rankings, but saw a decrease when one of the outside recruiting services dipped his ranking. He saw a 8% increase in the month of August, but back down 8% with his rankings drop. Fountain also plays on a high school squad which is not getting many eyes right now, which makes him a good candidate to see his numbers rise when he gets to the next level on a bigger stage.

4. IOL Jason Zandamela – NIL Valuation $119k

Zandamela saw his ranking rise to being the No. 1 or 2 center in the nation on three of the four major recruiting services. That brought his industry ranking up into the top-100 which helped raised his NIL value. He saw a 9% increase in October.

5. WR Ryan Pellum – NIL Valuation $114k

Pellum’s NIL valuation has stayed pretty constant since the time he committed. He started the season with a few multi-touchdown performances and has since had some stellar games, bring some eyes to his socials. If Pellum ends up participating in any of the All-American games, I can see his number rising to a higher number than he has been at before.