Michigan NIL notebook: Cade McNamara's gift to OL, J.J. McCarthy's deal with Dunkin'
As TheWolverine.com reported last week, Michigan Wolverines football senior quarterback Cade McNamara, who has an NIL deal with Ping, the popular golf brand, got his offensive linemen fitted for new clubs last month. Now, according to McNamara’s Instagram, the men up front have received brand new drivers.
The Ping G425 LST driver is regularly priced in stores at roughly $400, but the Michigan linemen, of course, received them for free, courtesy of McNamara. And there was a bit of a twist, with the brand making sure to include the Wolverines maize and blue colors.
The Michigan quarterback has long been in favor of spreading the wealth when it comes to NIL, and that’s a reflection of the Wolverine team’s efforts as a whole. Thanks to Valiant Management — which has helped Michigan players secure over $2 million in NIL deals — and others, U-M has held full-team events, including a ‘Meet The Team’ event at Crisler Center in late August.
“I think I’m in a place that I can benefit from it a lot, and I’m very appreciative of that,” McNamara said of NIL at Big Ten Media Days. “I’m really happy that Michigan has done events and things for not just the starters on the team but for all players as well. In my vision, I think that is the best of NIL, that not just the more popular guys get all of it. When the entire team can benefit from it, that’s the version of NIL that I like.”
He’s certainly living that out through this latest gesture.
McNamara has a $235,000 On3 NIL Valuation, the 165th-highest in college football. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. 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.
Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy has own meal at Dunkin’ Donuts
Sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy has been partnered with Dunkin’ for some time, taking part in different initiatives, including an Iced Coffee Day (May) campaign to raise money for children’s hospitals.
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Now, McCarthy has his own order at select Metro Detroit locations of the chain coffee and breakfast shop, a medium iced coffee with cream and a strawberry frosted donut. Valiant also helped secure this deal for the Michigan quarterback.
Last year, the Michigan quarterback pledged to donate a cut of his NIL profits to childeren’s hospitals in Chicago, his hometown, and Ann Arbor in his “quest to impact the lives of future generations.”
“I am excited about the opportunities NIL will afford for me and my fellow college athletes,” McCarthy said in a statement last year. “While it is a new era for college athletes, I came to Michigan to play football and earn a degree from one of the best universities in the world.
“Anyone that knows me, and my family, knows how important it is to make an impact on future generations and to help make this world a better place for them. I now have an even bigger opportunity to do that.”
McCarthy has a $329,000 On3 NIL Valuation, which ranks 102nd among college football players.
