Top five On3 NIL Valuations in Texas, Tennessee matchup

The SEC-Big 12 Challenge has returned, this time bringing a top-10 matchup to Knoxville.

Texas has had to deal with its own troubles this season, undergoing a coaching change in the middle of its season. Chris Beard was fired earlier this month following his December 12th arrest. Rodney Terry has stepped in, guiding the Longhorns to a 17-3 record and No. 10 ranking in the latest AP poll.

Yet, most predictions headed into Saturday has Tennessee as the favorite. The Vols are 9-1 at home this season. They’re on a three-game win streak since their loss at home to Kentucky. And Saturday is a homecoming of sorts; Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes coached at Texas for 17 seasons.

Heading into the weekend, the SEC carries some bragging rights. The conference has won each of the last two challenges after forcing a tie in the series in the 2019-20 season. Saturday’s game is slated to tip-off at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Ahead of tip, On3 is breaking down the top five On3 NIL Valuations in the game.

1. Marcus Carr

Position: Point Guard
On3 NIL Valuation: $173,000
On3 College Basketball NIL Rank: No. 42
Total Social Media Followers: 14,000

Marcus Carr has emerged as the unquestioned leader for Texas this season. The senior point guard from Toronto began his college career at Pittsburgh in 2017, eventually transferring to Minnesota two seasons later. He left the Big Ten and joined the Longhorns for the 2021 season. In his first year in Austin, he started all 32 games, while averaging 11.4 points and 3.4 assists. With the off-the-court issues this season — Texas head coach Chris Beard was fired earlier this month — Carr has stepped up. He’s averaging 17.6 points and 4.3 assists, shooting 46.5% from the field. Because he is from Canada, he has had to be careful in signing any NIL deals to make sure he does not put his visa on the line. Passive income is permissible for students who are in the U.S. on an F-1 visa, though.

2. Santiago Vescovi

Position: Point Guard
On3 NIL Valuation: $103,000
On3 College Basketball NIL Rank: No. 74
Total Social Media Followers: 23,000

Despite missing last week’s game against Mississippi State after re-injuring a shoulder injury, Santiago Vescovi returned against LSU and Georgia. He’s struggled in the past 10 games, scoring six and eight points, respectively. A native of Uruguay, Vescovi decided to return for his senior season after the Vols were bounced from the second round of the NCAA Tournament. He spent his summer with the Uruguayan national team, playing in the 2023 FIBA World Cup Americas qualifying rounds. Vescovi has not stayed quiet in NIL, either. He has a partnership with The Volunteer Club, which is run by Spyre Sports Group. The NIL collective supports Tennessee student-athletes through a monthly membership program. To date, it’s distributed more than $4.5 million to athletes.

3. Dillon Mitchell

Position: Small Forward
On3 NIL Valuation: $94,000
On3 College Basketball NIL Rank: No. 81
Total Social Media Followers: 32,000

The No. 4 overall player in the 2022 class, Dillon Mitchell has come into Austin and made a direct impact. The freshman forward has started every game this season. He’s averaging 6.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. He has quietly started to craft an NIL brand, too. Mitchell signed with CAA Sports for NIL representation back in June. He also attended an event for Armani in the same month as a brand ambassador. In an NBA mock draft released at the end of December by ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, Mitchell was slated to go No. 16 to the Atlanta Hawks. A strong performance in a top-10 matchup on Saturday would only help his draft stock and NIL value.

4. Zakai Zeigler

Position: Point Guard
On3 NIL Valuation: $93,000
On3 College Basketball NIL Rank: No. 83
Total Social Media Followers: 37,000

With more than 30,000 followers just off Instagram, Zakai Zeigler has been one of the biggest NIL winners on the Tennessee team this year. The sophomore burst onto the scene as a freshman, making the SEC All-Freshman Team as he averaged 15.9 points and 4.8 assists. Since his breakout year, Zeigler has signed NIL deals with Epic Games, Weigel’s Stores, Tire Discounters and The Volunteer Club. A house fire in Queens last season caused his mother to lose her home. Tennessee and Zeigler set up a GoFundMe for the family in March, eventually raising north of $360,000. This season, the point guard is averaging 14.8 points and 6.8 assists.

5. Timmy Allen

Position: Small Forward
On3 NIL Valuation: $79,000
On3 College Basketball NIL Rank: No. 99
Total Social Media Followers: 13,700

Timmy Allen was a solid contributor in four seasons at Utah, averaging 14.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. But he wanted a taste of playing big-time basketball. So the small forward transferred into Texas ahead of the 2021 season, averaging more than 12 points and six rebounds a contest. The campaign earned him All-Big 12 Second Team honors. He’s back to those same levels for his final year with the Longhorns. And he’s been successful in the NIL space, too, working with Excel Sports Management on his brand.

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.

The On3 NIL Valuation is publicly available. Performance, Influence, and Exposure ratings along with the athlete’s personal Brand Value Index and Roster Value Index are available only to the athlete in the “Athlete Verified” private dashboard on the On3 Athlete Network.