Kane Footwear signs five Ohio State players to NIL deals

The NIL opportunities continue to roll in for the Ohio State football team.

C.J. Stroud, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Denzel Burke, Miyan Williams and TreVeyon Henderson have each signed agreements with Kane Footwear to promote the company’s special edition Revive shoe. Dedicated to the recovery of the body and planet, Kane uses design and bio-based manufacturing to create an active recovery footwear.

The company’s flagship shoe, the Revive slip-on, was designed in partnership with a foot and ankle surgeon. An active recovery design, the shoe’s arch support ensures an easy transfer from heel to toe which promotes healing.

All five players picked up their own pair of shoes, which was featured in an Instagram post on Wednesday. Kane Footwear has also dropped licensed slip-ons at Alabama, USC, Clemson, LSU and Florida.

Kane has also partnered with multiple brands to create themed shoes, including Athletic Brewing Co., which Stroud serves as an ambassador for.

Ohio State is off to a 7-0 start and visits Happy Valley this weekend for a top-25 matchup with Penn State. Touting a top-five total offense and a defense that has allowed just 90 points through seven games, the Buckeyes are where they expected to be entering the final month of the regular season. The Buckeyes have not had any problems finding any NIL opportunties since the advent of the new age of college sports, either.

Stroud has inked notable deals with Designer Shoe Warehouse and Value City Furniture, and he’s currently driving around a G-Wagon through a partnership with Sarchione Auto Gallery.

Ohio State has been one of the more forward-thinking institutions in NIL. The school has a dedicated Director of Name, Image and Likeness. It has held NIL fairs for athletes to network with local businesses. And it most recently signed with INFLCR to create the OSUNIL Exchange, which will streamline the process of athletes working with brands and collectives.

Ohio State On3 NIL Valuations

C.J. Stroud holds a $2.6 million On3 NIL Valuation, the highest of any Ohio State athlete. He also ranks 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.

His two backfield teammates also have major valuations. TreVeyon Henderson has an evaluation of $546,000, while Miyan Williams’ sits at $239,000. The two backs have combined for 990 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba made his first appearance this past weekend against Iowa since being shut down since mid-September due to a hamstring injury. He’s expected to be in the lineup for the trip to State College this weekend. He has an On3 NIL Valuation of $435,000.

A breakout star as a true freshman, Denzel Burke has struggled at times this year for the Buckeyes. The sophomore current has a $292,000 evaluation.

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 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.