Here Are College Football’s Biggest and Coolest NIL Deals

Life as an NCAA student-athlete is now lucrative, thanks to the NCAA’s policy that allows college athletes to make an income off their name, image, and likeness (NIL).

While treasured college football traditions endure, the game changed forever in July 2021 when the NCAA introduced its NIL policy, giving college athletes the opportunity to make money.

Now, college athletes can build their own brands by making endorsement deals, cashing in on social media, and getting paid for such things as making personal appearances, signing autographs, and even modeling underwear and endorsing political candidates.

From private jets to Lamborghinis to chocolate chip cookies, here are some of the most exciting and one-of-a-kind NIL deals college football players have signed this year.

Back in the ’90s, Deion “Prime Time” Sanders was Nike’s premier NFL athlete with five editions of his Nike Air DT Trainer released from 1993-1998.

Fast forward 30 or so years and Deion is “Coach Prime,” leading the University of Colorado Buffaloes football team. And his son, Shedeur Sanders, is the team’s star quarterback with a just-inked NIL deal with Nike.

Colorado already had an apparel deal with Nike, but Shedeur in his podcast said he hopes his partnership with Nike will result in seeing his father’s line extended to a new generation.

“I would want to build on it. I want to build on it,” he said on his “2Legendary” podcast.

“Have like a different version. But I think concept, because I feel like now, like just looking at life and looking at everything, it’s more about generational. It’s more about what could be passed down year after year after year after year, rather than everybody starting to think they’re whole new wave and whole new because there’s no real substance behind it.”

Some of the nation’s top quarterbacks are inking deals with private jet companies this season.

At the University of Arizona, quarterback Noah Fifita will have access to private jets all season after striking an NIL deal with Alerion Aviation.

The private jet company’s deal with the Wildcat QB allows him to use Alerion Aviation jets for philanthropy trips and personal and team use. In return, Fifita starred in a new commercial for the company.

Other college football quarterbacks such as University of Georgia QB Carson Beck and University of Texas QB Quinn Ewers also have NIL deals with private jet companies.

Speaking of Quinn Ewers, after leading the Texas Longhorns to the College Football Playoff semifinals last January, the star quarterback announced he has signed on to be a brand ambassador for Gold’s Gym as it celebrates its 60th anniversary.

Ewers joins bodybuilding icons such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno in strength training with Gold’s Gym, which started in 1965 in Venice Beach, California.

“… I hope to inspire others on their path to becoming stronger,” Ewers said in a press release announcing the deal.

Watch for Gold’s Gym to partner with other top college athletes this year. In May 2024, it partnered with Opendorse, a company that develops NIL brand partnerships, to launch an exclusive ambassador experience open to college athletes across the country.

Ewers isn’t the only Longhorn making deals this season — two of his teammates will roll through Austin, Texas, in Lamborghinis thanks to NIL deals.

Lamborghini Austin named University of Texas football players Isaiah Bond and Michael Taaffe as the dealership’s NIL partners for the season.

Bruce Knox, managing partner of Lamborghini Austin, said in a press release that the dealership’s partnership with the university rewards student-athletes for success in the classroom, contributions to their community, and performance in sports.

Bond is a sports management major and wide receiver from Buford, Georgia. He has made the Dean’s List twice and also been on the SEC Honor Roll.

Taaffe, a safety from Austin, is also a sports management major. He’s a former walk-on player who earned a scholarship and became a defensive starter while making the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll and earning Academic All-Big 12 Second Team honors.

The dealership is a longtime supporter of Longhorn football having previously partnered with standout athletes such as Bijan Robinson, Jordan Whittington, Jake Majors, and Jaylan Ford.

Fans of University of Arkansas football can support the Razorbacks simply by cracking open a Tusk beer on game day.

Arkansas athletics formed a partnership with the Razorback-centric Arkansas Edge NIL collective and Goat Lab Brewery. Proceeds from sales will go to Arkansas Edge to create NIL opportunities.

Tusk beer is available at northwest Arkansas restaurants, retailers, and liquor stores. The beer was available in Little Rock for the Razorbacks season opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Aug. 29.

University of Oregon Ducks football players will don custom-made jewelry this season, thanks to the team’s starting quarterback.

Dillon Gabriel reached a new NIL deal with The GLD Shop, allowing him to give his teammates custom-made jewelry from the brand.

The chains are Oregon-themed and feature Oregon’s block O logo. Other chains included the university’s Duck mascot and one with a large Nike swoosh.

While many NIL deals are flashy, several college athletes have made headlines by using their funds to help others. Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht is one of the latest college athletes to take that route.

In July, Becht and the We Will Collective hosted a youth football camp in Iowa. The camp took place at Perry High School and was offered for free to fifth- through eighth-graders. We Will Collective said in a statement the camp was entirely Becht’s idea, and the collective was honored to help him make the camp a reality.

Becht is planning to continue to use his NIL funds for good by donating to Perry Community Schools in Iowa.

Audio software company Beats by Dre is officially launching another “Beats Elite’ campaign, signing 11 college football players to NIL deals. Those players will be featured in several marketing campaigns for the company and will be given custom headphones.

Some of the Beats Elite, such as Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe, have already gifted their team Beats by Dre headphones before the season.

Here are the other players who reached NIL deals with Beats by Dre:

“C” is for cookie … and University of Tennessee wide receiver Bru McCoy.

For the fourth straight year, Moonshine Mountain Cookie Company has secured an NIL deal to designate a star Tennessee Volunteers football player as the “Cookie Monster.” This year, the “Cookie Monster” will be McCoy.

As part of the deal, Moonshine Mountain Cookie Company will give away two free cookies at its Knoxville locations each time McCoy scores a touchdown in any game this season.

Previous Volunteers “Cookie Monsters” include former football players Alontae Taylor and Cedric Tillman.