College Football Playoff features top NIL collectives, success stories

The College Football Playoff is set with No. 1 Michigan facing No. 4 Alabama and No. 2 Washington battling No. 3 Texas.

There was controversy over whether or not Florida State should get in over the Crimson Tide. The four that landed in the College Football Playoff have some of the most robust NIL platforms in all of college sports.

The Wolverines, Huskies, Longhorns and Crimson Tide feature players who have had major individual NIL deals and massive On3 NIL Valuations. But all four have positioned themselves for success on the recruiting trail, with player retention and through the transfer portal with highly-respected collectives.

Here’s a look at the NIL situations at each of the College Football Playoff teams.

Michigan Wolverines

Top collective: Champions Circle
Top On3 NIL Valuation: QB J.J. McCarthy – $1.3 million

With the dawn of the NIL Era in July 2021, it’s safe to say Michigan was cautious with its approach. Critics also said the Wolverines were flat-footed and slow to respond to the marketplace that saw NIL become an important part of the recruiting process.

But Michigan has figured things out in a big way and coach Jim Harbaugh has spoken out time after time about how student-athletes should be able to engage in NIL and fans should be supportive of it. Heck, he’s even repeatedly called for revenue-sharing, including when talking to ESPN on Sunday.

The official NIL collective partner of Michigan is Champions Circle, a declaration that came before the start of the 2023 season. Amplifying the success of Champions Circle is the fact that the collective is run by former player Jared Wangler and it is the focus of sports marketing agency Valiant Management Group.

“We welcome the Champions Circle as the first U of M collective to achieve the status as an official partner of the Michigan Athletics,” said Warde Manuel, Michigan’s athletic director in August.

“Champions Circle has been thoughtful and proactive in its approach to support NIL activities for student-athletes across our entire athletic department.”

While the Wolverines started behind in the NIL race, they’ve made up significant ground and Champions Circle has created some of the best team and individual deals in the industry.

Washington Huskies

Top collective: Montlake Futures
Top On3 NIL Valuation: QB Michael Penix Jr. – $1.2 million

Jamaal Walton, Washington’s senior associate athletic director for sport administration & strategic initiatives, perfectly described the world college sports is now in with NIL.

“We are building the plane while we fly it,” he told the University of Washington Magazine earlier this year.

And while Washington leaders claim to “do things differently with NIL,” make no mistake about it, Montlake Futures has become a heavy hitter in the collective space and is the primary NIL source for UW.

Montlake Futures is a nonprofit that focuses on developing NIL opportunities that support both the student-athlete and the community. While Montlake does work with hundreds of other athletes at UW, some of its top campaigns feature star football players on the Huskies roster.

Another advantage for UW is that apparel partner adidas has also been greatly supportive of the Huskies football team. For example, Penix and teammate Rome Odunze signed NIL deals with the three-stripes, becoming the brand’s first football student-athletes. Both have also been heavily featured in pushes from adidas for the Biletnikoff Award and Heisman Trophy.

One has to imagine adidas’ support of the Huskies football program isn’t going to slow down any time soon, especially now that they’ve reached the College Football Playoff.

Texas Longhorns

Top collective: Texas One Fund
Top On3 NIL Valuation: QB Arch Manning – $2.8 million

It took a little while for Texas to get organized in the NIL space, as there were multiple collectives all working in the same market.

However, the Texas One Fund generated national headlines when it launched a year ago, merging five separate UT-focused collectives. Since the launch, Texas One has developed into one of the most ambitious collectives in the country with support across all Longhorn sports.

Yet, Texas One has also played a monster role in supporting the UT football program, facilitating numerous NIL deals with key players. Texas One also has a local approach, partnering top Longhorn players with companies that do good in the Austin community.

For example, star offensive tackle Kelvin Banks has promoted local businesses and foundations like Our Shared Kitchen, the Austin Public Library, SAFE Austin Afterschool Care just in the past few weeks.

The Texas One Fund has positioned itself for long-term success through massive fundraising campaigns. The collective appears to be in tremendous shape for the future – a future that sees the Longhorns entering the SEC next season.

Alabama Crimson Tide

Top collective: Yea Alabama
Top On3 NIL Valuation: QB Jalen Milroe – $1.3 million

A familiar theme among the teams in the College Football Playoff is that their NIL game plan and collectives took a little while to solidify under one umbrella. It’s also what took place in Tuscaloosa, too.

After multiple collectives came and went in the Alabama market, Yea Alabama launched with the full backing of the Crimson Tide athletic department in early February 2023.

That backing made all the difference, as Yea Alabama has been magnificent with its support of the Crimson Tide football team. Yea Alabama has done it all – exclusive content, player-featured music playlists, teamwide autograph sessions, beef jerky, meet and greets and apparel. Yea Alabama has been unique and creative with its partnerships and as long as the Crimson Tide continues to produce wins on the field, it appears the collective is going to be a winner for players off of it.