Texas A&M golfer, Masters amateur winner Sam Bennett signs NIL deal with T-Mobile

Sam Bennett was not able to cash in earlier this month at The Masters.

The Texas A&M golfer finished tied for 16th in the tournament, shooting 2 under. He became the first amateur to finish in the top 20 of The Masters since 2005. But because of his status, he was not able to pocket any money from his performance; he would have made $261,000 in winnings.

Instead, Bennett was able to hoist the Silver Cup next to Jon Rahm at Augusta. The fifth-year senior flew back to College Station, Texas, where he was welcomed by fans. And now he’s starting to see some of the winnings come his way through NIL dollars.

Ahead of this week’s SEC golf tournament, Bennett has inked a partnership with T-Mobile. The telecommunications company is the official 5G sponsor of the SEC and Texas A&M. The golfer will post on his social media and make event appearances as part of the agreement. His agreement with T-Mobile does not require for him to endorse the company on his golf gear and expires at the end of his college career.

He made his first post Monday on Instagram ahead of his departure for the tournament, which is being held Wednesday through Sunday at the Sea Island Golf Club on St. Simons Island in Georgia. He’s repped by Promondo Sports for NIL.

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Bennett holds other marketing deals with Ping, Veritx Community Bank, Suncast and Aggieland Golf Cars. T-Mobile has NIL deals with Alabama pitcher Montana Fouts, Georgia outfielder Jaiden Fields and Indiana guard Jalen Hood-Schifino.

He’s currently a top 50 golfer in the country, according to GolfWeek‘s rankings.

“Because Bennett’s amateur status prevented him from collecting his Masters’ prize payout, partners like T-Mobile are helping him make up these earnings through impactful NIL endorsements,” T-Mobile said in a release.

Sam Bennett’s On3 NIL Valuation

The Texas A&M golfer has a $91,000 On3 NIL Valuation. Bennett has continued to see his social media following spike following The Masters. He has just under 140,000 followers across Instagram and Twitter.

His deal with T-Mobile marks his first since his finish at one of golf’s four majors. Bennett’s two-round total of 8 under was the second-lowest amateur score after two days in Masters history.

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.