J.J. McCarthy donates NIL funds to Michigan offensive linemen, children’s hospital charity

J.J. McCarthy continues to push all the right buttons with NIL and the Michigan fanbase.

After officially getting the nod as the Wolverines’ starting quarterback, McCarthy is using his NIL deal with The M Den to raise money for his JJ For The Kids charity. Plus, he’s generating funds for his offensive linemen.

It was announced on Tuesday that McCarthy will donate large portions of his NIL sales on The M Den – a Michigan apparel store that sells officially licensed items – to both his offensive line and his charity. His NIL deal with The M Den was facilitated by Valiant Management. 

The offensive linemen will reap the benefits of 100% of McCarthy’s royalties from jersey and T-shirt sales. And his charity will receive 100% of the proceeds from the six different items on sale featuring his number and the charity’s smiley face logo.

JJ For the Kids supports children’s hospitals across the country. McCarthy said the charity was originally started after an interaction with a young fan. He said the foundation, which is listed as a 501(c)(3) public charity, is “a way to make a difference in the lives of kids in my communities, in the Chicagoland area and in Ann Arbor.” The foundation has branched out to also support the ChadTough and Oxford Strong foundations.

J.J. McCarthy has already made big donations

JJ For the Kids has reportedly donated more than $11,000 to C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor and Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, near McCarthy’s hometown of La Grange Park.

“It’s definitely something that I’ve been wanting to do even before this whole NIL stuff started,” McCarthy told The Detroit News in January. “This is something I wanted to do once I reached a pro level and a pro salary and the ability to receive that kind of money to be able to good with it. How it’s been going with this NIL is just amazing. What an opportunity to be able to make this impact at such an early stage in my career.”

McCarthy popular with Michigan fans

Michigan fans can’t get enough of J.J. McCarthy.

The fan base is so excited about McCarthy that a new autographed trading card created through his NIL deal with The M Den sold out in less than an hour on Tuesday.

The M Den released a new limited edition “Michigan Moments” trading card series that was available for pre-order. The card highlighting McCarthy’s first start at quarterback for the Wolverines came in two different versions – autographed and blank. Both went on sale Tuesday afternoon on The M Den’s website, and within an hour the autographed version that goes for $100 was sold out. The M Den’s website says the item is now “out of stock” but fans still add the item to their wish list for additional future releases.

J.J. McCarthy has strong On3 NIL Valuation

The sold-out item is another example of how excited Wolverine fans are about J.J. McCarthy, who signed with Michigan as the No. 9 ranked quarterback in the Class of 2021. And there’s plenty to get excited about.

In a Week 2 win over Hawaii, McCarthy went 11-for-12 for 229 yards and three touchdowns. His lone incompletion was a drop from fifth-year wideout Ronnie Bell. McCarthy ended the day with a 334.5 passer rating.

J.J. McCarthy currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $337,000. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. The On3 NIL Valuation calculates the optimized NIL opportunity for athletes relative to the overall NIL market and projects out to as long as 12 months into the future.

Along with his agreement with The M Den, McCarthy also has NIL deals with Dunkin’, Eberg Capital and the Randy Wise Automotive Team.