Kane Footwear signs NIL deals with five college football stars

A year ago, Kane Footwear made its first dealings in NIL with five Ohio State players.

Now with an expanded collegiate collection with 16 schools, the brand has tapped back into the NIL space for its latest marketing campaign.

Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., Clemson linebacker Barrett Carter, Alabama linebacker Dallas Turner, USC safety Calen Bullock, and Texas linebacker Anthony Hill have all inked NIL contracts with Kane.

On top of compensation for social media posts, each athlete received their own pair of shoes. The company’s flagship shoe, the Revive slip-on, was designed in partnership with a foot and ankle surgeon. The revives include restore foam padding, which is made from sugarcane.

An active recovery design, the shoe’s arch support ensures an easy transfer from heel to toe which promotes healing. Dedicated to the recovery of the body and planet, Kane uses design and bio-based manufacturing to create active recovery footwear.

Each collegiate shoe features the school’s colors and logo. Harrison has made multiple posts on behalf of Kane, including a new video released Wednesday ahead of Ohio State’s top-10 matchup with Penn State.

Footwear has become a popular area for endorsement deals in the NIL Era. On top major brands like Nike and adidas, Reebok made its first NIL move this week by signing LSU basketball’s Angel Reese. A new volleyball shoe brand, Avoli, has worked with college athletes to put its product in front of a volleyball audience.

Kane Footwear working with NIL stars

The son of NFL Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison has publicly announced more than 10 endorsement contracts with brands and collectives since March, while also launching a memorabilia collection. Harrison’s name has already been tossed around as the potential No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft. His top NIL deals include a partnership with Mark Wahlberg Chevrolet of Columbus, joining the Zoa Energy Drink marketing campaign, a one-off agreement with Dr Teal’s and being featured on a bag of Grippo’s Chips.

The receiver has a $1.2 million On3 NIL Valuation, which ranks No. 14 in college football and No. 18 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. Harrison has 31 catches for 604 yards and five touchdowns this season.

Considered one of the best EDGE prospects in the 2024 NFL draft, Turner has only boosted his draft stock. The Alabama defensive lineman has 29 total tackles with two forced fumbles so far in 2023. That’s on top of his 9.5 tackles for loss and seven sacks. While he’s kept a fairly low NIL profile, he has partnerships with B Generous and My Gameday Shop. Turner’s On3 NIL Valuation of $801,000 is No. 26 in college football and No. 37 in the On3 NIL 100.

Named to On3’s midseason True Freshman All-American team earlier this month, Hill has thrived during Year 1 in Austin. The former five-star prospect has 25 tackles including 3.5 tackles for loss and three sacks this season. He’s played well on the national stage, too, finishing with six tackles and two sacks at Alabama. Hill inked an NIL deal with Vanguard Volkswagen back in January. His On3 NIL Valuation of $497,000 is No. 93 in college football.

A former five-star recruit, Carter has tallied 30 total tackles with 4.5 tackles for loss in his third year with Clemson. The linebacker has worked with the two Clemson-driven NIL collectives Dear Old Clemson and TigerImpact. With more than 26,000 social media followers, he has a $259K On3 NIL Valuation.

Bullock earned First Team All-American honors last year with five interceptions. The junior safety has found success again this season, with 37 total tackles and an interception. On top of his work with Kane, he signed with House of Victory in April. His valuation is currently at $450,000.

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.

About On3 NIL Valuation, Brand Value, Roster Value

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 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.