Florida State's Trey Benson announces season-long partnership with Surcheros Fresh Mex

When Trey Benson transferred from Oregon to Florida State, the former four-star running back’s career had not taken off. Dealing with an injury, he saw limited playing time in two seasons with the Ducks.

Things clicked this past season with the Seminoles, though. Benson earned second-team All-ACC honors while rushing for 990 yards and nine touchdowns.

He is now positioned as the top returning tailback in the ACC entering the 2023 season. The on-field success has transitioned to NIL opportunities. One of the more recognizable names on the Florida State roster, Benson has inked a season-long partnership with Surcheros Fresh Mex, announced on Instagram.

The partnership comes at a key time for the company, which already has one restaurant and is opening a second this fall in Tallahassee. Benson can help promote the opening of the second location throughout the fall.

The running back will be promoting the Tex-Mex restaurant on his social media channels and will make appearances throughout the season. He is also giving away a $100 gift card, with the winner being announced Tuesday.

Just Win Management, which serves as Benson’s NIL rep, facilitated the agreement. Founded by Joseph Hernandez, the agency works with Ja’Khi Douglas, Jordan Travis and Jameis Winston.

The Seminoles finished 10-3 for the first time since 2016 last year. Viewed by most as a College Football Playoff contender, they open the season on Sept. 3 in Orlando against LSU. Florida State has been agressive in the transfer portal, too, adding key additions like receiver Keon Coleman, cornerback Fentrell Cypress and tight end Jaheim Bell.

Trey Benson’s growing NIL brand

The Florida State star has seen his NIL portfolio grow tremendously in the last five months. Benson has an agreements with the Seminole-focused NIL collective, The Battle’s End. Donor-led collectives have popped up across the country in the last 22 months, competing to raise the most funds to attract high school recruits and retain talent.

The 6-foot, 209-pound running back has struck some creative partnerships, too. He launched trading cards in a deal with Johnso Creative in December. Benson and Jordan Travis are hosting a football camp together on June 10 for Tallahassee youth. And Benson is driving around in a Ford thanks to an agreement with Tallahassee Ford.

With more than 30,000 social media followers, he provides value to companies hoping to expand the reach of their business. That rings true around Tallahassee, where he is prominently known by Florida State fans.

His On3 NIL Valuation has seen growth recently, jumping 10% in the last 10 weeks. The running back holds a $625,000 valuation, which ranks No. 50 in the college football NIL rankings. Benson sits No. 72 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.