Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith signs NIL deal with Red Bull

Ohio State true freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith has signed one of the most notable NIL deals of the college football season.

The former Five-Star Plus+ recruit and the No. 1 prospect in the 2024 class has inked an endorsement agreement with Red Bull, he announced Thursday on social media. He’s the first college football player to sign with the energy drink company, joining South Carolina women’s basketball star MiLaysia Fulwiley and Nebraska volleyball’s Bergen Reilly as NIL ambassadors.

“Off week, got my wiiings,” he said on social media. His Instagram biography now includes Red Bull athlete.

A 6-foot-3, 215-pound wide receiver, Smith has posted 11 catches for 211 yards in two games with three touchdowns. In Week 2 against Western Michigan, he beat out six defenders on a 70-yard catch-and-run touchdown.

Over his final two seasons at Hollywood (Florida) Chaminade-Madonna Prep, he caught 151 passes for 2,474 yards and 39 touchdowns. He’s earned comparisons to the likes of Julio Jones and Larry Fitzgerald.

“If I’m starting to talk too much about that, it’s not a good look and it’s not fair to him,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said on the Andy & Ari On3 show. “He still has to be young. He’s gotta make his mistakes. He’s gotta grow. I think he’s a hard player to have a comp with because of his size. His explosiveness, his ability to run, his approach. He’s very mature for his age.”

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Jeremiah Smith’s growing NIL brand

Smith has already inked agreements with the NIL collectives The Foundation and The 1870 Society, the primary collective for the Buckeyes. He also signed with Ricart Automotive in March. He’s in EA Sports College Football 25 as the top-rated freshman in the game. Most recently he inked an endorsement deal with Battle Sports.

With over 343,000 social media followers, Smith holds an On3 NIL Valuation of $1.1 million. The valuation is 23rd 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.

“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.

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