Ohio State's Caleb Downs, Jeremiah Smith star in American Eagle ad through NIL collective deal
Caleb Downs and Jeremiah Smith are partnering with one of the biggest brands in the Columbus market.
The Ohio State stars are starring in a new commercial with American Eagle. Facilitated through the Buckeye-driven NIL collective The Foundation, the work with the clothing brand is part of their roster value agreements with the collective.
It’s not American Eagle’s first time working with Ohio State stars. The brand previously signed deals with running back TreVeyon Henderson and defensive back Denzel Burke. The season-long deals with Downs and Smith are factored into their agreements with The Foundation.
Full terms of the partnerships were not disclosed, but the safety and wide receivers are both set to earn over $1 million this season from The Foundation. American Eagle contributed dollars to the collective in exchange for their work promoting the brand.
A 501(c)3 collective, The Foundation has established an LLC for non-charity deals that does not take any fees from contributions.
Smith was the No. 1 prospect in the 2024 recruiting class and is expected to play immediately as a freshman at Ohio State. Over his final two seasons at Hollywood (Florida) Chaminade-Madonna Prep, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound wide receiver caught 151 passes for 2,474 yards and 39 touchdowns.
The former Alabama transfer, Downs was the top-ranked player in the portal, according to On3, this past portal window. The Buckeyes and Georgia went down to the wire to land Downs out of the portal, but Ohio State was able to win the recruitment, in part thanks to an in-home visit. The SEC Freshman of the Year and second-team All-American closed out 2023 with 107 total tackles, which ranked fourth in the SEC. He also tallied 3.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions.
Caleb Downs Jeremiah Smith’s On3 NIL Valuations
Downs has a $817,000 On3 NIL Valuation, which is No. 21 in the college football NIL rankings. The valuation is also No. 40 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.
Smith touts a $752,000 On3 NIL Valuation, slated at No. 47 in the On3 NIL 100.
“Despite what some fans and media believe, there is not an unlimited amount of money being deployed to manage rosters,” said Shannon Terry, the founder and CEO of On3. “Any model – whether it’s today’s broken NCAA ‘student-athlete’ construct or media rights sharing through employment, which is almost a certainty in the near future – demands efficiency based on the athlete and school knowing the athlete’s respective market value.”
The On3 NIL Valuation is calculated by combining Roster Value and personal NIL. Roster value is the value an athlete has by being a member of his or her team at his or her school, which factors into the role of NIL collectives. NIL in an athlete’s name, image and likeness and the value it could bring to regional and national brands outside of the scope of NIL collectives.