Caitlin Clark and 9 other college athletes making over $1 million a year from NIL deals

By Weston Blasi

Iowa's Caitlin Clark has made more than $3 million from NIL deals, but she's not the highest earner in the country

Many college athletes now make more than the pros.

Since 2021, student-athletes have been allowed to monetize their name, image and likeness (NIL) after decades of student-athlete protests that they didn't receive any money, while the NCAA earned billions from their abilities - especially in football and basketball. In 2024, some of these athletes are not just making some extra cash on the side - they're making millions.

NIL deals, negotiated by college athletes and their representatives, turn some amateur athletes into spokespeople. College athletes have promoted traditional industries - car manufacturers, grocery stores and athletic-apparel makers, to name a few. But some athletes and colleges are working together in collectives that can raise money to bolster schools' recruiting efforts. Whereas boosters would traditionally donate to a school's athletic department, now they can donate to the school's NIL collective, which would be tasked with using those funds to bring recruits to the school.

See also: When March Madness star D.J. Burns isn't hustling on the court, he has a side hustle owning vending machines

Football players are among the college athletes who make the most money from NIL deals, followed by athletes playing men's basketball, women's volleyball and women's basketball. That's generally because college football and basketball have multibillion-dollar TV broadcasting contracts, while most other sports generally have lower visibility.

There are at least 24 college athletes who have made over $1 million from NIL, according to On3's deal tracker.

With that in mind, and with college sports dominating headlines during the 2024 NCAA Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments, here are the college athletes who make the most money from NIL deals, according to On3's proprietary NIL algorithm, which is based on NIL-deal data, performance, influence and exposure.

10. Carson Beck, $1.5 million

Georgia quarterback Carson Beck, who finished his third season running the offense, is playing at one of the most high-profile football schools in the nation, giving him ample opportunity to get endorsement deals.

Beck has deals with brands including EA Sports, The Players' Lounge, Associated Credit Union, and Leaf Trading Cards.

9. Jalen Milroe, $1.6 million

Jalen Milroe, a junior quarterback, led the Alabama Crimson Tide to a College Football Playoff berth last season, losing in the first round to the eventual champion Michigan.

Milroe has NIL deals with Apple's (AAPL) Beats by Dre, Six Star Pro Nutrition, EA Sports (EA), and Rhoback.

8. Angel Reese, $1.8 million

Senior Angel Reese, who has 5.3 million followers across her social-media platforms, has NIL deals with Goldman Sachs (GS), Tampax, Airbnb (ABNB), Amazon (AMZN), Reebok and PlayStation.

7. Quinn Ewers, $1.9 million

Quinn Ewers, the junior Texas Longhorn, joins a long list of quarterbacks on this list. Ewers led Texas to the College Football Playoff last season and has 262,000 followers on social media.

Ewers has NIL deals with 7-Eleven, C4 Energy, Panini, Fornite, and Wrangler.

Read on: Super Bowl quarterback Brock Purdy made $870,000 this season - 16 college football players made more via NIL

6. Travis Hunter, $2.4 million

Travis Hunter was one of the college football players who transferred to the University of Colorado from Jackson State last season to follow coach Deion Sanders.

From 2023: Deion Sanders is making a lot of people around him and the University of Colorado rich

The star wide receiver plays on both offense and defense - as a wide receiver and a cornerback - a rarity in a high-level college program.

Hunter has 2 million followers on social media and has NIL deals with Cheez-It, Celsius, American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) and EA Sports.

Hunter is a highly touted NFL prospect, and when he decides to declare for the NFL draft in future years, he will likely have a multimillion-dollar contract as a rookie that could dwarf his collegiate NIL earnings.

5. Arch Manning $2.8 million

Texas Longhorns sophomore quarterback Arch Manning is one of several top NIL earners whose family plays a role in their fame. Arch is the nephew of Super Bowl champion quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning, and the grandson of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning.

Despite being a backup quarterback with no recorded statistics, the younger Manning has 277,000 followers on social media and has a NIL deal with Panini.

4. Caitlin Clark, $3.1 million

Iowa's Caitlin Clark has been the biggest story of the college basketball season. Clark broke the NCAA scoring record earlier this season, and announced she will enter the WNBA in 2024.

Clark's $3.1 million of estimated NIL earnings puts her above any other women's basketball player. Clark has 1.5 million followers on social media - and has NIL deals with Gatorade, State Farm, Nike (NKE) and Xfinity.

3. Livvy Dunne, $3.6 million

Olivia Dunne is the only college athlete in the top 10 of NIL earners who doesn't play basketball or football. The senior LSU gymnast is the top female NIL earner in the nation and has brand deals with Nautica, Motorola, Body Armor and American Eagle Outfitters.

See also: Why the owner of the NBA's Timberwolves could make $1 billion more now that his sale to A-Rod has 'expired'

2. Shedeur Sanders, $4.7 million

University of Colorado's senior quarterback Shedeur Sanders became a phenomenon in the sports world last year.

The son of NFL legend Deion Sanders made headlines after throwing for 510 yards and four touchdowns in Colorado's season-opening shocker against No. 17-ranked Texas Christian.

The younger Sanders has 2.4 million followers on social media, and has NIL deals with huge brands including Google (GOOG), Beats by Dre, Mercedes-Benz (XE:MBG) and Oikos.

1. Bronny James, $4.9 million

Bronny James is yet another athlete with a world-class pedigree. Bronny, the son of Lakers star LeBron James, just concluded his freshman basketball season at the University of Southern California.

After his freshman year began with a scare - he suffered a cardiac arrest last July during basketball practice and had to be taken to the hospital - James appeared in 25 games last season, where he averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists.

James has 13.4 million followers on social media and has NIL deals with brands including Nike, Google and PSD Underwear.

See also: Michael Jordan is now worth $3 billion. Here's what billionaire athletes have in common.

-Weston Blasi

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04-02-24 0709ET

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