Texas EDGE Colin Simmons inks first NIL deal with Vanguard Volkswagen

Colin Simmons is starting to make moves to build his NIL brand.

The Five-Star Plus+ recruit recently arrived in Austin as an early enrollee at Texas. Despite being ranked as the No. 4 prospect coming out of the Longhorn State in the 2024 class, he was not able to leverage his marketability as a high schooler because it would have jeopardized his eligibility.

That has changed now that he’s signed his National Letter of Intent and enrolled in classes at Texas. Simmons announced his first NIL deal on Friday, a partnership with Austin’s Vanguard Volkswagen. The car dealership has established locations across the state of Texas, with shops in Arlington, Carrollton, Hughes Springs and Sherman.

One of the biggest NIL spenders in the Austin market, Vanguard has worked with Quinn Ewers, Roschon Johnson and T’Vondre Sweat. Chris Late, the owner of the dealership, previously inked partnerships with multiple members of the 2023 Texas recruiting class.

Now Simmons is joining the fraternity of players to work with Vanguard Volkswagen.

“I kind of grew up with it as a kid, my family all went to Texas — it was just kind of in our path,” Late previously told On3. “When the NIL opportunities came up for these kids, we thought it’d be a great way to kind of represent who we are and help out some kids.

“Also possibly get some good social media attention from it and future clients. And, you know, as some of these kids go on to be successful, whether it’s the NFL or whatever else in life, they’ll always feel comfortable coming back to me to buy a car.”

NIL deals with car dealerships have become one of the most popular activations over the past 30 months. In return for promotion on social media and maybe a few appearances, athletes can have access to a vehicle during their time in college. While earning cash compensation is a big win for athletes in the NIL Era, being able to have a car on campus is a major win.

Working with Texas athletes has only helped the Volkswagen dealership grow its brand awareness, especially following the first deal with Ewers.

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Colin Simmons primed for NIL Era

A Duncanville, Texas, native, there’s little doubt Simmons could have commanded some notable brand deals if he was allowed to as a high schooler. As a Five-Star Plus+ recruit and the face of the back-to-back 6A state champions, Simmons’ name, image, and likeness already has weight in DFW.

The pass rusher picked the Longhorns over LSU in August. Ranked as the No. 2 EDGE and No. 11 recruit in the 2024 class, he’s one of the key pieces of a Texas class that ranks No. 6 in the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings. Leaving the class was never on Simmons’ radar

“I couldn’t see myself picking up the phone or answering any texts or calls from other schools,” he told On3 at Under Armour All-America Bowl media availability. “Look at where Texas is at right now; there’s no point of flirting with any other schools right now, especially if they’re not in the College Football Playoff.”

Colin Simmons holds an On3 NIL Valuation of $727,000, which ranks No. 2 in the high school football NIL rankings. His valuation is No. 53 in the On3 NIL 100, the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.

With nearly 150,000 social media followers, he’s poised to attract national brand deals. And as a highly regarded recruit, he commands an elite roster value.

About On3 NIL Valuation, Brand Value, Roster Value

The On3 NIL Valuation is calculated by combining roster value and personal NIL. 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. NIL in an athlete’s name, image and likeness and the value it could bring to regional and national brands outside of the scope of NIL collectives.