Marvin Harrison Jr. signs NIL deal with Grippo’s Chips, featured on package

Marvin Harrison Jr. will soon begin his chase to become the first Ohio State wide receiver to win the Biletnikoff Award since 1995.

He will be coming to Buckeyes fans on chip bags, too. Through an NIL deal with Grippo’s Chips, the nation’s top returning receiver will have his own Hot Honey BBQ chips in stores throughout Ohio this fall. The agreement was announced Wednesday on Twitter.

“Look for my very own Hot Honey BBQ Grippo’s Chips now in store throughout the Ohio Region!” he wrote on Twitter.

A potato chip company based out of White Oak, Ohio, Grippo’s is the official chip of the Cincinnati Reds. Along with chips, the brand also produces pretzels and pork rinds.

One of the top names in college football last season, Harrison opted not to ink an endorsement deal during his breakout year. The son of NFL Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison has publicly announced eight endorsement contracts with brands and collectives since March, while also launching a memorabilia collection.

Harrison had 77 catches for 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2022. Picked as the Big Ten Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, the former four-star recruit has already been tossed around as the potential No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

This is not the first time a chip company has struck a deal with a college athlete. Missouri receiver Luther Burden signed with Old Vienna, a St. Louis company, in August 2021. The company released a Honey Barbeque flavor of their Red Hot Riplets with Burden’s image and autograph on every bag for a month.

Look for my very own Hot Honey BBQ Grippo’s Chips now in store throughout the Ohio Region!
Go Bucks! pic.twitter.com/R5dGIbXBC5

— Marvin Harrison Jr. (@MarvHarrisonJr) August 2, 2023

Marvin Harrison Jr.’s growing NIL brand

After adding more than 200,000 social media followers since October, Harrison has become one of the most marketable athletes in college sports. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound receiver has partnered with the Ohio State-driven Cohesion Foundation to do charity work with the Ronald McDonald House. He signed with the other Buckeyes-driven collective, The Foundation, too.

While he has yet to sign with any representation, he signed with Mark Wahlberg Chevrolet of Columbus at the end of February and received the keys to a Chevrolet Tahoe. Harrison headlined a camp for Columbus youth last week, too.

A Biletnikoff Award finalist last season, Harrison has also signed with Dr Teal’s, with plans to promote the pure Epsom salt brand across his social media platforms, according to Everett Sports Management, which facilitated the deal. The season-long partnership comes after he was named one of “The Rock’s Warriors,” joining the Zoa Energy Drink marketing campaign.

The top wide receiver in college football has a $1.3 million On3 NIL Valuation, which ranks No. 9 in college football. The valuation sits at No. 12 in the On3 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.

Harrison has roughly 411,000 social media followers, with 208,000 on his Instagram and another 138,000 via TikTok. He has 65,000 Twitter followers.

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.