NIL Deals of the Week: Stetson Bennett IV adds new partnership, Jalon Daniels building brand

The big takeaway this week in NIL: winning games on Saturdays will only help an athlete’s NIL portfolio. It’s the same lesson learned from the first year of the NIL era. Teams that win on the weekend will be rewarded.

This week in NIL saw quarterbacks cash in. Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett IV added another NIL deal to his growing list of partnerships, this time signing with a sweet onion producer in his home state.

Kansas now sits at 5-0 on the season, and quarterback Jalon Daniels is reaping the rewards. He signed two new deals this past week.

As a reminder, feel free to submit info on your NIL deal to On3. You can send an email to [email protected] or reach out via DM or comment on Twitter to @On3NIL or @deals_nil. Direct messages are open, too, on the @On3NIL Instagram account.

Let’s get to the deals that highlighted this week in NIL.

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Stetson Bennett IV signs NIL deal with Shuman Farms

Stetson Bennett signed a new NIL deal this week. And it may just be his best yet.

The Georgia quarterback inked a deal with sweet onion producer, Shuman Farms. With a major focus on game-day tailgating, Bennett will promote the company’s sweet onions across his social media platforms and he will be featured in marketing materials materials at points of sale.

Brokered by Everett Sports Marketing, the deal will last through the remainder of the college football season. Possibly the best part of the activation is the video ad Bennett filmed for Shuman Farms.

“When you grow up in Georgia, there’s just something special about Saturdays in the fall. No one knows that better than Shuman Farms,” Bennett says in the ad. “For two generations, Shuman Farms has grown the world’s sweetest onions right in the heart of southeast Georgia. Their dedication to being a family business, giving back to their community and producing they’re proud to share is the reason why I’m proud to be on their team.”

His deal with Shuman joins a growing list. He’s recently signed on with ARP and Synovus Bank along with Fanatics and Georgia Power. He’s expected to hit $1 million in NIL earnings soon, too.

Bennett’s On3 NIL Valuation has spiked to $963,000 since he led Georgia to a 5-0 start to the season. He has seen a $259,000 bump over the past 14 weeks. His On3 NIL Valuation ranks in the top 25 of the NIL 100 and No. 12 in the college football NIL rankings.

Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels signs two deals, continues to build brand

Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels signed two new deals in the last week. It’s part of his growing market value thanks to leading the Jayhawks to a 5-0 start to the season. College GameDay will be in Lawrence this weekend as well.

Through five games, the quarterback has thrown for 11 touchdowns and just one interception. And he’s doing work in the running game, too. He’s averaging 7.2 yards per carry along with five touchdowns.

And businesses want in on his growing brand.

Charlie Hustle — the Kansas City-based company known for its iconic KC Heart t-shirts and other NIL deals with student-athletes in the nation’s heartland — announced earlier this week it reached an NIL partnership with Daniels. As part of the agreement, Charlie Hustle will be selling t-shirts featuring Daniels and his “dynamic energy” and “shifty ball skills.” The deal was facilitated by KU-focused NIL collective Mass Strategies.

And on Wednesday, he inked a deal with Mercury, a company focused on creating exclusive digital-first platforms and communities for top collegiate brands to bring fans closer to their favorite athletes and teams. He’s already joined a Discord with the company to chat with fans. And there’s plans for the team’s first digital collectible to drop this Friday on the Rock Chalk platform.

Daniels currently holds an On3 NIL Valuation of $396,000, which ranks in the top 100 among college football players. A win this weekend against TCU in the national spotlight would put Kansas at 6-0. His name would only be mentioned more in the Heisman Trophy conversation, too.

Boise State releases licensed football trading card set made possible through NIL

Boise State continues to be at the forefront of new initiatives in the NIL space.

The Broncos were awarded the best institutional NIL program at the inaugural NIL Summit in June. Although the terms of the deal for athletes was not released, Boise State announced Wednesday it has entered the trading card business.

More importantly, it’s another example of what could not have happened before NIL. Athletes were prohibited from turning a profit on their name, image and likeness. Meaning profiting off these trading cards would have never happened.

Through a relationship with Jacksons Food Stores, Boise State has released a trading card set with the entire team represented. Plus, Jacksons Food Stores’ investment in printing more than 10,000 cards makes it the largest trading card venture for any school in the country.

The officially licensed, professionally designed, printed and packaged trading cards will be sold exclusively at 103 Jacksons locations across the greater Boise metro area beginning Friday. Each pack contains 14 cards and will retail for $12.99. One out of every 10 packs will also include a limited-edition, autographed card.

The full set includes cards featuring each football student-athlete and Buster Bronco. The 10 limited-edition autographed cards, numbered 1-100, depict Bronco standouts Scott Matlock, Ezekiel Noa, John Ojukwu, JL Skinner, Riley Smith and more.

South Carolina’s G.G. Jackson signs trading card NIL deal with Topps

Park Avenue announced on Twitter late last week that freshman power forward G.G. Jackson, a former On3 Consensus five-star recruit who flipped from North Carolina and reclassified in July, signed a “major trading card deal” with Topps.

That’s big news for the former North Carolina commit. Formerly the top-ranked prospect in the 2023 class, Jackson has the potential to be the biggest earner on South Carolina‘s roster of student-athletes. The deal was brokered by Park Ave, which focuses solely on representing South Carolina athletes at no charge. The firm is run in partnership with Everett Sports Marketing.

Athletes are typically paid a per-signature price, such as $2 or $5, as part of NIL deals that are often valued in the four or low-five figures when doing trading card deals.

Jackson averaged 22.1 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game as a junior in helping lead the Blazers to the 2022 South Carolina Class 5A State Championship. He was named the 2021-22 South Carolina Boys Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year. 

The NIL deal with Topps is not his first since, though. The forward announced in early August he had signed with the Carolina Rise collective. With his reclassification to the 2022 class, Jackson is the No. 7 overall player and the second-ranked power forward, per the On3 Consensus.

He has continued to build his social media following his commitment to the Gamecocks. His total follower count now sits at 46,000 with more than 35,000 coming from his Instagram. His current On3 NIL Valuation sits at $404,000.

Pitt safety Brandon Hill spreading positivity in partnership with Pirates

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Jaster Athletes have put together a very unique partnership in recent weeks.

Pitt safety Brandon Hill is being compensated for going on a Random Acts of Kindness journey thanks to NIL. At one of his recent stops, he spent the day passing out Post-it Notes full of positive messages.

And this week, he spend the day giving away tickets for Tuesday night’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park. He topped off the night by throwing out the first pitch.

It’s a unique deal in the day and age with so much focus on social media posts. But it shows the power of what NIL can do away from social media.

“It’s an amazing feeling to be supported by this city and be able to return the favor by giving back,” Hill told On3. “Partnering with the Pirates is really cool for me. I had no idea that when I started this Random Acts of Kindness journey this is what it would turn into.”

This isn’t the first NIL deal that Brandon Hill has executed. He’s also done partnerships with Scullis Pizza and Pittsburgh-focused NIL collective Alliance 412. And he had a major game last weekend against Georgia Tech with 11 tackles, including seven solo stops.

Honorable Mention

• Ohio State linebacker Teradja Mitchell has formed a streetwear brand dubbed “Above the Realm.” Apparel can be purchased on his website.
• Staying in Columbus, five Buckeyes basketball players inked deals with the new NIL collective. The O Foundation has signed Justice Sueing, Zed Key, Brice Sensabaugh, Felix Okpara, Bruce Thornton and Roddy Gayle.
• Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan has signed with Tim Tebow’s CAMPUS platform.
• South Carolina women’s basketball player Zia Cooke has inked a deal with Grammarly.
• Florida gymnast Leah Clapper has agreed to a deal with the investment firm Scout.
• Local advertising and marketing firm PM Group announced $275,000 in NIL deals for the next three years for UTSA football.