Alabama players with the highest NIL valuations from On3

Nick Saban has built Alabama into the premier brand in college football. Athletes from all around the country build themselves into stars while playing for the Crimson Tide. With the Name, Image and Likeness era in full-swing, On3 has created a way to quantify how valuable an athletes brand is. On Jan. 7, the first On3 NIL 100 dropped — featuring some big names from Alabama in the top 100.

The rankings feature high school and college athletes based on On3 NIL Valuation. Among them, eight Alabama football stars and one Crimson Tide basketball star made the Top 100. Additionally, the rankings also show the change in each players’ valuation and how many social media followers they have.

The NIL 100: Highest ranked Alabama players

3) QB Bryce Young — $1.8 million. After a phenomenal season where he captured the Heisman Trophy, it’s no wonder how Young ranks so high in On3’s valuations. The quarterback is already a star, and still has another season left with the Crimson Tide.

8) LB Will Anderson — $718,000. In addition to Young returning and leading the Alabama offense, Anderson will return to lead the Alabama defense. Arguably the best defensive player in the nation, Anderson will continue to prove his worth on the field.

14) PG JD Davison (Alabama Men’s Basketball) — $445,000. One of the most valuable players in his sport, Davison helped signal that Alabama basketball has arrived. Thus far, Davison is averaging 7.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.4 assists for the Crimson Tide.

21) WR Jameson Williams — $364,000. The trajectory of Williams’ career changed when he became a member of the Crimson Tide. After seasons of being an afterthought at Ohio State, the Alabama wide receiver is on his way to being a first round selection in the NFL Draft.

41) WR John Metchie — $209,000. Unfortunately, Metchie won’t be on the field when Alabama faces Georgia after tearing his ACL in their first go-round. Still, his star power has grown immensely since getting to Tuscaloosa.

77) RB Brian Robinson — $137,000. Robinson waited patiently to get his chance at Alabama. Evidently, the decision is paying off big time for the running back.

79) OT Evan Neal — $134,000. A future premium selection in the NFL Draft, Neal has been the anchor of the Crimson Tide offensive line. He keeps the most valuable player on the team – Bryce Young – off the ground.

86) S Jordan Battle — $127,000. The leader of the Alabama secondary gets paid. Moreover, Battle’s star-power was on display in the SEC Championship — his pick-six putting the game away for the Crimson Tide.

99) CB Ga’Quincy McKinstry — $117,000. With a nickname like Kool-Aid, you’re going to be popular. McKinstry has had his struggles in his first season with Alabama, but his future is bright as any in the sport.

About On3 NIL Valuation, Per Post Value, and the On3 NIL 100

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 an athlete has completed to date. 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.

With a baseline established through their individual social platforms, an athlete may also receive various boosts or penalties based on the following factors:

• Engagement
  • Athletes are assessed on how much engagement their posts and stories generate. Athletes that consistently show high engagement rates will receive a boost while those with low engagement rates receive a minor penalty.
• Relative Social Media Strength
  • In order to maintain parity, athletes are not penalized for not having strong followings across all 3 social media platforms. However, a boost is applied for athletes with strong followings and engagement across all three platforms relative to their peer group.
• College Prestige
  • Each college is ranked from top to bottom, with athletes attending the top-ranked colleges receiving the highest boosts. High school athletes receive a partial boost once they commit to a college and receive 100% of the boost value once they are enrolled.
    The colleges are ranked on the following:
    • Team Ranking per sport
    • College TV Ratings
    • College Revenues from sports
• Individual Player Rankings
  • Utilizing On3’s rankings, an athlete’s recruiting or On300 ranking will give them a boost according to their ranking. Once an athlete is in college, the On300 player impact ranking is used instead of their recruiting ranking.
• Position
  • For college football only. The QB position is the highest-rated position, followed by skill positions – RB, WR, TE, CB, S, Edge. There are no boosts or penalties for the other positions in football. In basketball, there are no boosts for position.
• Gameday Performance
  • Athletes who excel on a particular game day will receive minor bonuses for their performance.
    The gameday boosters can be for the following:
    • Conference Players of the Week
    • National Players of the Week
    • Team Win (opposition strength is factored in)
    • Outstanding performances on gameday, especially in key games with large viewership
• Prestigious Achievements
  • Athletes nominated (or those in the running at earlier stages in the season) for awards such as the Heisman Trophy will receive a boost. As the odds change throughout the season for the leading contenders, so will the boost. The maximum points awarded for this boost are applied once the winner and finalists have been announced with the winner receiving the highest boost and the other finalist sharing the remaining points based on their final position.
• Legacy
  • Athletes who come from prestigious/ famous families will receive a boost. These boosts are usually applied to athletes who come from a family with national fame. An example of a legacy boost is Bronny James who is the son of Lebron James.
• Media
  • Athletes who appear in major publications or are highlighted in productions and special features on major networks will receive boosts or penalties based on the positivity or negativity of each article. This is not solely based on the number of articles or productions but rather the sentiment of the articles.
• Existing NIL Deals
  • As part of the valuation, deal flow is considered and athletes that are signing a large number of valuable contracts will indeed be boosted to reflect their success in the market. This is a relatively minor boost and the increase in the value of the athlete is not equal to the value of the deals they have signed. This is solely a marker to reflect an athlete’s ability to get deals signed and executed.