Travis Hunter's On3 NIL Valuation spikes following Transfer Portal entry

It’s been more than a year since Travis Hunter put on the Jackson State hat on early National Signing Day. The move sent the college football world into a tizzy and only elevated what Deion Sanders had accomplished at Jackson State.

A lot can change in a year. The two-way athlete is now in the Transfer Portal, jumping in late Sunday night. Sanders is off to Colorado, while it’s unclear exactly where Hunter will land.

As On3’s Chad Simmons reported Tuesday morning Georgia and Colorado have quickly emerged as contenders to land the former Five-Star Plus+ recruit. There’s no shortage of suitors; Hunter is ranked as the No. 1 player available in On3’s Transfer Portal rankings.

There’s been a notable jump in his On3 NIL Valuation since entering the portal, in part due to an increase in his social media following. He now has a $678,000 valuation, a $20,000 jump over the last week. He also has more than 1.2 million social media followers.

Hunter sits at No. 53 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 valuation also ranks No. 30 in college football.

Making the jump from FCS to Division I will only help his evaluation, with more eyeballs on him thanks to a bigger TV deal and recognizable college brand.

Travis Hunter’s growing NIL brand

Since landing at Jackson State, Hunter has not struggled to find NIL opportunities. The freak athlete announced a multi-year deal with the digital banking platform Greenwood back in July. As part of the deal, he is doing all his banking with the company.

“I want the next generation to feel empowered to make the right choices and support Black businesses and Black excellence,” Hunter said at the time of the announcement. “I’m inspired by what Greenwood is doing to support financial freedom for minorities.”

He also signed on to a deal with Actively Black next to Sanders’ sons Shedeur and Shilo. Agreements with the Michael Strahan Brand and SoHoodie have also come together over the past few months.

With one of college football’s largest social media followings, Travis Hunter has everything a brand looking to capitalize on a marketing campaign is looking for. His on-field successes only help, too.

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.