Caleb Williams' On3 NIL Valuation surges past $3 million following Heisman win

Caleb Williams became the eighth player in USC history to win the Heisman Trophy this past weekend in New York City.

Winning the award immediately grows an athlete’s national profile and brand. What the last seven USC Heisman winners never could do, however, was turn their moment into a monetization opportunity. NIL has changed all of that.

Hall of GOATs, the arcade-style video game started by Williams and former USC quarterback Matt Leinart, plans to release an exclusive avatar of the Heisman winner Tuesday afternoon. That will only be the start of the new opportunities Williams has unlocked with his Heisman.

For all the success he has had in the NIL space, Williams lived up to the on-field hype. In Year 1 with the Trojans, he threw for 4,075 yards with a 66.1 completion percentage. He was picked off just four times while leading the country with 37 passing touchdowns. He added another 10 scores on the ground, too.

Williams’ win on Saturday night in New York City resulted in major changes to his On3 NIL Valuation. His evaluation now sits at $3.2 million, a $651,000 jump in the last week. And the quarterback added more than 20,000 followers on Instagram, bringing his social media following to more than 236K.

With at least another year of college football remaining, he sits at No. 5 in the NIL 100, which is the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation. Williams’ evaluation ranks second among college football players, only trailing Bryce Young‘s $3.5 million valuation.

Caleb Williams’ strong NIL portfolio

In less than a year in Los Angeles, Williams has become the poster child for NIL in college football. Working closely with his Smith & Company team, he became one of the first college athletes to sign with Beats by Dre back in February. From there, he inked agreements with Fanatics Authentic, AC+ION Water and Athletic Brewing Company.

He has a part-owner role with the brand Faculty, too. And before the Heisman Trophy ceremony on Saturday, he signed with the sports energy drink Celsius. While his total NIL earnings have not been disclosed, he recently shared with GQ Sports he’s currently driving an electric car around Los Angeles but wouldn’t disclose the brand.

In the ever-changing landscape, Williams has been able to create his own brand. He wore a Gucci suit to the Heisman ceremony. He has been spotted carrying around a Louis Vuitton bag at The Coliseum this season. And he’s fully self-dependent thanks to NIL.

He’ll be back at USC for another year, appearing next to Tim Tebow and Baker Mayfield in Nissan’s Heisman House ads. Williams has been able to use his platform to establish the Caleb Cares Foundation, which focuses on anti-bullying, youth empowerment and mental health awareness.

About the On3 NIL 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 calculates an athlete’s NIL value using dynamic data points targeting three primary categories: performance, influence and exposure.

While the algorithm includes deal data, it does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals athletes have completed to date, nor does it set an athlete’s NIL valuation for their entire career.

The On3 NIL Valuation accounts for an athlete’s roster value and brand value. Roster value is the value an athlete has by being a member of his or her team at his or her school, which factors into the role of NIL collectives. Brand value factors in an athlete’s personal brand and the value it could bring to regional and national brands outside of the scope of NIL collectives.