Bryce Young, Stetson Bennett, Caleb Williams agree to NIL trading card deal with Topps

Topps has secured NIL trading card rights with nearly 200 student-athletes across college football and basketball.

Topps, along with its parent company Fanatics, said it has reached NIL agreements with multiple college sports stars, including Heisman Trophy-winning Alabama quarterback Bryce Young. The iconic trading card brand has also reached deals with Georgia national championship-winning quarterback Stetson Bennett, Oregon quarterback Bo Nix and USC quarterback Caleb Williams.

“I’m so excited to team up with Fanatics and Topps on this new trading card partnership,” Williams said in a news release. “(It) will allow me to create an even deeper level of engagement with fans and collectors everywhere.”

Fanatics and Topps said it also agreed to NIL trading cards rights deals with highly touted incoming men’s basketball players like five-star Duke signee Dereck Lively II and Arkansas five-star signee Nick Smith. The company has also signed several premier women’s college basketball stars, including the 2022 NCAA Women’s basketball national champion and tournament’s most outstanding player Aliyah Boston of South Carolina.

Topps has trading cards deal with 100+ schools

Topps is also launching a line of college sports trading cards with student-athletes from more than 100 universities to profit off NIL.

Some of the top programs involved are Alabama, Duke, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Penn State, Syracuse and Texas A&M. The company didn’t disclose how much some of the athletes will be paid. Yet, compensation will vary depending on several factors. The trading cards will be released under Topps’ BowmanU brand beginning this fall.

Fanatics and Topps said the agreements will include both exclusive and non-exclusive co-branded trading card products. The cards will incorporate official university trademarks. It’ll also feature current student-athletes and former athletes playing in the NFL, NBA and MLB.

Williams, Young, Bennett have massive On3 NIL Valuation

Bennett, Young and Williams have some of the highest On3 NIL Valuations in college sports. Young ranks second in the On3 NIL 100 and has a value of $3.1 million. Williams has a $2.4 million On3 NIL Valuation. He’s fifth on the On3 NIL 100. Bennett values at $703,000. He is No. 26 on the list.

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 On3 NIL 100 is the first of its kind and the defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by market valuation.