Top 10 On3 NIL Valuations in the 2023 recruiting class

Name, image and likeness (NIL) has become a major aspect of college football recruiting, regardless of whether fans, coaches and even some athletes like it.

College athletes, and even certain high school ones, are finding ways to monetize their success in avenues that weren’t previously available. The largest is social media, where high school prospects have amassed huge followings on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. The bigger than the number of followers, the more a player can ostensibly demand to represent a brand.

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.

As the chapter closes on the 2022 recruiting cycle and shifts to 2023, here are the top 10 On3 NIL valuations for 2023 football recruits.

1. Arch Manning — $1.6 million

Arch Manning is not only the No. 1 2023 prospect in the On3 Consensus, but he’s also the latest quarterback prodigy in a family who can rightfully claim its place as the atop the Mount Rushmore of quarterback factories. Manning isn’t a social media star and doesn’t often do interviews, but his on-field performance and family name put him in another stratosphere when it comes to NIL.

2. Rodney Gallagher — $119K

Rodney Gallagher isn’t as well-known as some of the others on this list, but he’s already built a massive Instagram and TikTok following that pushes him ahead of some other bigger names.

3. Daeh McCullough — $102K

Daeh McCullough is one of three brothers in the McCullough family playing Division I football. He has amassed a huge TikTok following of more than 400,000 users, and his videos have been liked upwards of 33 million times.

4. Malachi Nelson — $102K

Malachi Nelson made arguably the biggest move yet in the 2023 class, flipping his commitment from Oklahoma to USC after head Lincoln Riley left for Tinseltown. With the hype around the Trojans’ program and his proximity to Hollywood, Nelson should see his NIL Valuation skyrocket even further.

5. Johntay Cook II — $59K

Johntay Cook II has developed a significant following on Instagram (21,000+) and an even bigger one one TikTok, where he is well over 100,000 followers.

6. Joenel Aguero — $53K

Joenel Aguero is one of the country’s best safeties in the 2023 class, but he’s also built a nice social media following because of it. Aguero has totaled more than 25,000 Instagram followers and another 46,000 on TikTok.

7. Nico Iamaleava — $52K

Behind Manning and Nelson, Nico Iamaleava is the next-best quarterback prospect in the country, checking in as a five-star. The laid-back signal-caller doesn’t have much of TikTok presence, but he’s amassed 13,000-plus Instagram followers. And he’s sure to add to that as he chooses between offers from nearly every major football program in the country.

8. Cormani McClain — $50K

Cormani McClain is one of three Five-Star Plus+ prospects in the 2023 class, and while he doesn’t possess the Arch Manning-like NIL capabilities, he’s a brand name. McClain isn’t particularly active on social media but has a strong Instagram following of close to 10,000.

9. Brandon Inniss — $43K

Like Malachi Nelson, Brandon Inniss is a former Oklahoma commit who backed off his pledge when Lincoln Riley left. Now, he’s entertaining offers from all over the country, including USC, Miami, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and others. He is another prospect who will surely see his NIL valuation explode as 2023 recruiting ramps up.

10. Chris Parson — $42K

Checking in at No. 10 is Chris Parson, Florida State’s 2023 quarterback commit. Parson ranks lower on the field that the rest of this list (No. 302 in the On3 Consensus) but has built followings on both Twitter and Instagram that total nearly 20,000.