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Sam Hartman signs NIL deal with Under Armour, gifts Notre Dame team SlipSpeeds

Nakos updated headshotby:Pete Nakos•08/19/23•

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Sam Hartman
John Mersits / USA TODAY NETWORK

Sam Hartman chose Notre Dame as his transfer destination for more exposure.

One of the top quarterbacks in the ACC last season at Wake Forest, the Fighting Irish brand provides the chance to compete on the national stage. They are also a staple program for Under Armour. The sportswear company recently re-signed Notre Dame to a new 10-year apparel contract valued at more than $10 million annually in cash and gear, according to Yahoo Sports.

Hartman is starting to see the power of Notre Dame pay off. The quarterback inked an NIL deal with Under Armour. As part of the agreement, he has gifted each member of the team a new pair of SlipSpeed shoes before the Fighting Irish travel to Dublin for a Week 0 matchup against Navy. Featuring a convertible heel, the sneakers can transition from training shoes to slippers.

The partnership was made public in a video released Friday night by Notre Dame on social media. In the announcement, Marcus Freeman shared how he wanted his players to reap the benefits of the athletic department’s new apparel deal.

“Part of my conversations with Jack [Swarbrick], when we started talking about Under Armour and all those different things, take care of our players,” the second-year head coach said. “One of those things is they already did an NIL deal with Sam.”

In Under Armour’s announcement of the extended partnership with Notre Dame, the company said it would be “supporting student-athletes both on AND off the field.” Sportswear brands have become significant spenders in the NIL Era. Adidas has launched an NIL network, working with athletes across the Division I landscape who represent the brand at their respective schools.

Nike has been an active name, too, signing notable basketball names like Caitlin Clark and Bronny James. Under Armour supporting Notre Dame athletes in NIL would be a smart move to possibly drive up the value of its relationship with the school.

“Obviously Under Armour is our main sponsor, so they wanted to do something,” Hartman said in the video. “I said, ‘I’m not doing something unless we do it with the boys.’ So we want to hook you guys up. Shout out to Under Armour for hooking you guys up, hooking us up every day.”

Sam Hartman settling into Notre Dame

Notre Dame struggled at the quarterback position last year, opting to jump in the portal this offseason and pick up Hartman. Arguably the top quarterback available, the former three-star recruit is now in a premier program.

After a five-year run at Wake Forest, Hartman decided to transfer opposed to entering the NFL draft. He missed the 2022 season opener after he underwent surgery for a non-football injury, yet he finished the year with a 63.1% completion percentage with 35 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

The 6-foot-1, 210-pound quarterback brings immediate veteran experience to the quarterback position. He beat out Tyler Buchner for the starting job this spring; Buchner transferred to Alabama in April. Hartman has thrown for 12,967 career yards and 110 passing touchdowns.

“It’s different; it’s special here,” Hartman recently said. “There is a lot of eyes which is pretty obvious at the point. You never really know until you’re out of it what it means to be in this position. As much as I can, trying to soak it in.”

Expansive NIL brand

Repped by Vayner Sports, he’s been an active name in NIL with endorsement deals with Bojangles, Candy Digital, Dove, Mizzen+Main and Wahl Grooming. He has built a major social media brand, too, with nearly 125,000 followers.

Sam Hartman has a $1.1 million On3 NIL Valuation, which ranks No. 14 in the college football NIL rankings. His valuation sits at No. 20 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.

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.