Barstool owner Dave Portnoy offers $3 million NIL to get Michigan Top 10 QB every year
First-year Michigan Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore has dealt with questions at the quarterback position to begin his tenure. Luckily, there is a diehard Wolverines fan willing to fix that problem.
Dave Portnoy, the owner of Barstool, is a famous Michigan fan who wants to see his program’s quarterback play improve. He’s now putting his money where his mouth is, offering between $1-3 million in an NIL deal to help get the Michigan Wolverines secure one of the Top 10 available quarterbacks every season.
This comes amid a season where QB play has been a concern for Michigan. After winning a national championship last season with J.J. McCarthy under center, the Wolverines have already started both Davis Warren and Alex Orji behind center, with both struggling at times.
“Michigan, I will be your quarterback guy,” Dave Portnoy said. “I’ll talk to Sherrone [Moore], ‘Who do you guys want? Who’s in there?’ Give me a group. I’ll go sign them. $1 million. $2 million. Whatever it is…$3 million.”
For Portnoy, the conversation came up during a back-and-forth with Dan “Big Cat” Katz, who joked that he was going to do the same for Wisconsin, his alma mater. That prompted Portnoy to further explain how his NIL deal would work.
“I can get a quarterback. We don’t have a quarterback. If I don’t get the number one … I’m gonna get us a top 10 quarterback in the portal coming out every year. Top 10 quarterback and then here’s a little bit of the issue,” Portnoy said.
“You’ll have to find something else because they’re doing a weekly spot on Pardon My Take. My guy, not your guy, my guy. That’s already been taken. So, you’re gonna have to find something else for the Wisconsin guy. But college football recap, a college football hit. So, there’s two things. $3 million marketing agreement. I think that’s legal.”
According to On3’s Pete Nakos, that $3 million NIL figure from Portnoy would put whatever quarterback Michigan lands among the Top 5 highest-ranked NIL valuations in the On3 NIL 100.
“The going rate for an elite transfer portal quarterback is $1 million, but that is just the floor. Multiple quarterbacks this past offseason commanded deals worth over $1 million annually from NIL collectives,” On3’s NIL expert Pete Nakos said. “Landing a quarterback for $3 million would be an outlier in the portal unless it is a multi-year deal and Portnoy tries to land a top-ranked quarterback recruit.”
There are also relatively few players who have an On3 NIL Valuation over $1 million, let alone $3 million. In fact, in the On3 NIL 100, only 22 quarterbacks currently have more than a $1 million valuation.
The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. A proprietary algorithm, the On3 NIL Valuation establishes the overall NIL market and projected 12-month growth rate for an Athlete by measuring two categories: Roster Value and NIL.
The majority of dollars athletes earn is based on their Roster Value. Roster Value collects data from all school collectives, players, and representatives using a proprietary Roster Management algorithm. NIL value measures the licensing and sponsorship market through exposure and social media influence. Roster Value and NIL combine to create the overall On3 NIL Valuation.
Only two quarterbacks, Colorado‘s Shedeur Sanders and Texas‘ Arch Manning, currently have valuations of more than $3 million. Longhorns starter Quinn Ewers sits just behind Manning with a valuation of $2.2 million. Meanwhile, Ohio State transfer quarterback Will Howard has a valuation of $1.3 million.
Other quarterbacks with large valuations include Alabama‘s Jalen Milroe ($2.2. million), Ole Miss‘ Jaxson Dart ($2.1 million), and Miami‘s Cam Ward ($1.9 million).
Some quarterbacks also come into college with large NIL valuations with three of the top high school quarterbacks currently having valuations of over $1 million. Nebraska freshman Dylan Raiola, for instance, has a $1.3 million valuation. Meanwhile, Tennessee sophomore Nico Iamaleava has a $1.9 million valuation.
If Portnoy is willing to put in up to $3 million a year for Michigan to have a top-end quarterback, there will be options moving forward.