Top five On3 NIL Valuations in Ohio State-Notre Dame showdown

In a weekend filled with six ranked matchups, Ohio State visiting Notre Dame has been a date many college football fans have circled on their calendars since the summer.

The premier nonconference game of the 2023 season has plenty up for grabs. For starters, major College Football Playoff implications are on the line. If the Buckeyes can enter South Bend and win convincingly, it would set the stage for them to shoot up the rankings. If they stumble, Notre Dame will squarely be in the mix for a playoff berth in Year 2 of the Marcus Freeman era.

For all the buzz around the matchup between quarterbacks Sam Hartman and Kyle McCord, the matchup features the No. 3 (Ohio State) and No. 4 (Notre Dame) defenses in the nation. Saturday is the fifth consecutive meeting since 1996 where both programs are ranked top 10 of the AP poll.

Before kickoff, we’re diving into the top five On3 NIL Valuations in the Ohio State-Notre Dame matchup:

1. Marvin Harrison Jr. — Ohio State

On3 NIL Valuation: $1.4 million
Social media followers: 470K
Position: Wide Receiver

If there was any doubt about Marvin Harrison Jr.‘s production after pulling in only two receptions in Week 1, he’s shut down any questions in the weeks since. In the last two games, the receiver scored three touchdowns and had 12 catches for 286 yards.

He’s still very much on track to become the first Ohio State wide receiver to win the Biletnikoff Award since 1995. Another eye-catching performance Saturday night in South Bend will only help his chances. Notre Dame will be throwing double coverage all night long, though. 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. He’s built a strong chemistry with quarterback Kyle McCord, who was his quarterback in high school, too.

The son of NFL Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison has publicly announced 10 endorsement contracts with brands and collectives since March, while also launching a memorabilia collection. His top NIL deals include a partnership with Mark Wahlberg Chevrolet of Columbus, joining the Zoa Energy Drink marketing campaign, a one-off agreement with Dr Teal’s and being featured on a bag of Grippo’s Chips. Earlier this week, Harrison starred in a new commercial for Chipotle with seven of his Ohio State teammates.

2. Sam Hartman — Notre Dame

On3 NIL Valuation: $1.2 million
Social media followers: 135K
Position: Quarterback

A year ago when Notre Dame entered Ohio Stadium, Marcus Freeman clearly didn’t have a quarterback. Sure, the Fighting Irish only lost by 11. But they clearly didn’t have the trust or veteran experience at the position. Three weeks into the experiment in South Bend, everything has gone according to plan. Sam Hartman has been the perfect fix, at quarterback. Entrenched in the Heisman Trophy race; he might be a favorite if the ninth-ranked Fighting Irish knock off No. 6 Ohio State on Saturday night.

The sixth-year quarterback was the biggest name on the transfer portal market this offseason. After rewriting the Wake Forest record books and bringing the program to the ACC title game, he wanted a fresh start. The chance to prove himself under the national spotlight. He’ll get that shot on Saturday night.

Hartman’s yet to throw an interception either, throwing for 1,061 yards and 13 touchdown passes. It’s no secret Hartman has built a respectable NIL brand these last two years and change. Repped by Vayner Sports, the quarterback has endorsement deals with Bojangles, Candy Digital, Dove, Mizzen+Main and Wahl Grooming. He has roughly 135,000 followers, too. The quarterback has a $1.2 million On3 NIL Valuation.

And this week, Homefield Apparel released a Sam Hartman T-shirt that features the quarterback with his signature and the slogan “Victory March,” an ode to Notre Dame’s fight song.

3. Joe Alt — Notre Dame

On3 NIL Valuation: $847,000
Social media followers: 5.3K
Position: Offensive Tackle

A former four-star offensive tackle, Joe Alt was tabbed as one of the top 10 college football players ahead of the 2023 season. The AP All-American has started 25 consecutive games for the Fighting Irish. Alt has found himself on the Walter Camp Award and Lombardi Award watch lists, too. The team captain has played a major role this year for an offensive line that’s only allowed four sacks. Notre Dame will face an Ohio State defense that has struggled to pressure the quarterback this season; the Buckeyes did force four turnovers against Western Kentucky.

While Alt only has 5.3K social media followers, he’s hosted multiple camps for South Bend youth since the inception of NIL. The offensive tackle has already been tabbed as one of the first offensive linemen off the board in this spring’s NFL draft.

4. Audric Estime — Notre Dame

On3 NIL Valuation: $840,000
Social media followers: 34K
Position: Running Back

Audric Estime flashed his potential in Year 1 as the starting running back at Notre Dame. After getting off to a slow start, he showed promise down the stretch. He’s become the workhorse of the Fighting Irish offense. The former four-star recruit has carried the ball 63 times this season, rushing for a nation-leading 521 yards and five touchdowns. Averaging 8.3 yards per carry, his 130.2 rushing yards per game is second in the country.

Estime is starting to build an NIL portfolio. He and Alt partnered with NextGen Camps to host a youth football camp in South Bend on July 22nd. And in August, Rhoback signed the running back to an NIL deal. As part of the deal, he was compensated and will have an opportunity to earn a commission for sales he drives for Rhoback. The 5-foot-11, 227-pound tailback will also receive a substantial amount of gear. Estime has more than 34,000 social media followers.

5. Emeka Egbuka — Notre Dame

On3 NIL Valuation: $562,000
Social media followers: 100K
Position: Wide Receiver

Emeka Egbuka is one-half of college football’s most potent wide receiver tandem. While Marvin Harrison Jr. may grab the most headlines for his jaw-dropping catches, Egbuka has emerged as one of the sport’s most consistent pass catchers. A former five-star recruit, the Ohio State star finished with 74 receptions for 1,151 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.

The Notre Dame defense will have its hands full handling Harrison on Saturday night, opening up the possibility for Egbuka to have a standout performance. In three games this season, the wideout has tallied 12 catches for 167 yards and three scores. He joined the 1,500-yard club last weekend and is five receptions away from pulling in 100 career catches.

Egbuka has found success in NIL, too. He’s the face of an Amazon Style campaign at Easton Town Center in Columbus. As part of the campaign, the 6-foot-1, 205-pound receiver is featured on a billboard over the story. With more than 100K social media followers, he’s signed NIL deals with the Ohio State-driven NIL collective The Foundation and Intuit TurboTax. Egbuka also participated in last November’s Fortnite Tournament. Powered by eFuse, sources told On3 that more than six figures were spent in signing talent to the Ohio State and Michigan tournament rosters. He signed an agreement with Casey’s earlier this month.

About the On3 NIL Valuation

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 accounts for an athlete’s roster value and brand value. 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. Brand value factors in an athlete’s personal brand and the value it could bring to regional and national brands outside of the scope of NIL collectives.