With Name, Image, and Likeness payments (NIL), the world of college athletics has changed. College athletes are now getting paid, and this takes place all around the country. Ohio State does not spend the most on NIL, and the Buckeyes are nowhere near the top NIL earner. It is, however, interesting to note that in 2024, Ohio State’s NIL spending was $2.85 million.
Ed O’Bannon Changed the World
Ed O’Bannon was a basketball player at UCLA in the early 1990s. He was very good and was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 1995 NCAA Basketball Tournament when his UCLA team won the National title. His picture was used without permission on the 2009 Electronic Arts (EA) basketball video game. He sued the NCAA and EA in a case that ultimately went to the United States Supreme Court.
The United States Court of Appeals ruled in O’Bannon’s favor in August 2014. The Supreme Court denied the NCAA appeal in 2016, and the case ended. O’Bannon’s legal action has had many effects, but the most prominent is that beginning in the Fall of 2024, college athletes will be paid, ostensively, for the use of their NIL.
NIL Top Earners in 2024
It is difficult to find data on NIL spending at colleges, even though they are required to make that data public. But a top 100 list for each of the major sports is available. It is surprising, but the top earner this year is Shakur Sanders at the University of Colorado. The football player who is the son of National Football League Hall of Famer and University of Colorado head football coach, Deion Sanders (aka ‘Primetime’), earns a whopping $5.8 million in 2024.
The other top earners in NIL money are all football players. Number two is Travis Hunter, a sophomore cornerback at the University of Colorado. He earns $3.3 million. Three is Arch Manning, the sophomore quarterback at the University of Texas. Manning earns $3.1 million. Four is Jalen Milroe, the sophomore quarterback at the University of Alabama. Milroe may be declared the best player in college football and win the Heisman Trophy. He earns $2.5 million. Five is Quinn Ewers, the quarterback at the University of Texas, who transferred from Ohio State. He earns $2.2 million in NIL money in 2024.
NIL Top Earners in Ohio State Football
The top earner on the Ohio State football team is Jeremiah Smith, the freshman wide receiver who is a starter. He ranks number twelve overall and earns $1.5 million in NIL money. Will Howard, the transfer quarterback, is fifteenth and earns $1.4 million. It is funny that the two highest earners at Ohio State are its two newest players. NIL money has become a big part of recruiting. Quinshon Judkins, the transfer running back at Ohio State, ranks twenty-six overall and earns $984,000. The transfer safety, Caleb Downs, is twenty-eighth and earned $946,000.
NIL Top Earners in Ohio State Basketball
The top earner on the basketball list is Cooper Flagg, a Freshman at Duke University. He earns $2,6 million. Blue blood programs like Duke dominate the top 100 list in basketball. There are two Ohio State basketball players on the list. Bruce Thorton is probably the best basketball player at Ohio State. He ranks fifty-eight and earns $457,000. John Mobley, a freshman on the Ohio State basketball team, ranks ninety-sixth and earns a mere $212,000.
NIL Top Earners in Ohio State ‘Non-Revenue’ Sports
The top Ohio State female basketball player is Cotie McManan. She ranks fifty-eight on the women’s basketball list, earning only $31,000. She is the only Ohio State women’s basketball player on the top 100 list. In women’s volleyball, the top of the list is dominated by the University of Nebraska. Ohio State has four players in the top 100 headed by Emily Londot a senior who ranks thirty-third and makes only $3,300.
One can get to almost every sport’s top 100 list from the webpage, but it is economical to stop here. One thing is certain: most athletes earn much less than football players, and it is worth noting the vast majority of college athletes, thousands upon thousands of them, earn nothing.
Conclusion
Amazingly, college athletes are paid for their Names, Images, and Likeness. It is also amazing that Shakur Sanders from the University of Colorado is the top earner. The top two earners are at the University of Colorado. It is reasonable to wonder if the dollar amounts will increase next year.
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