$10 million in NIL deals<\/a>, more than three times the average NFL player\u2019s salary.<\/p>\nWhile Shedeur Sanders is the headliner at Colorado, he\u2019s not alone in mining the NIL vein. Travis Hunter, a five-star sophomore prospect, has an On3 NIL valuation of $2.2 million, the fourth highest among all college football players. Hunter\u2019s NIL value was $1.7 million at the beginning of the year.<\/p>\n
Hunter plays wide receiver on offense and cornerback on defense, a rarity in a high-level college program. He has 1.8 million followers on social media, a successful YouTube
\n GOOG,
\n -0.08%<\/bg-quote><\/p>\n GOOGL,
\n -0.15%<\/bg-quote>
\n channel, and endorsements with Celsius Energy Drink and 7-Eleven.<\/p>\nHunter entered this season as the most highly touted NFL prospect at Colorado, and Deion Sanders contends rival schools have attempted to poach him via lucrative NIL deals.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople offered Travis Hunter a bag \u2014 about $1.5 million to try to lure him and buy him out of the transfer portal,\u201d coach Sanders told 247Sports over the summer. \u201cBut Travis is not the kind of guy that can be bought. He isn\u2019t built like that. Travis is a relational young man that is built on relationships and stability. And that\u2019s what he wanted and desired. That is why he decided to ride and stay with us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hunter suffered a lacerated liver on a late hit by a Colorado State defensive back last weekend.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t miss:<\/strong> Colorado coach Deion Sanders condemns fans\u2019 death threats against Colorado State defensive back over late hit<\/p>\nSanders\u2019s other son on the team, Shilo, is also a top NIL earner. A senior defensive back who took an interception 80 yards and into the end zone during the Buffaloes\u2019 win over Colorado State, Shilo\u2019s NIL value, per On3, sits at $719,000. He has NIL deals with Porsche
\n DRPRY,
\n -0.61%<\/bg-quote><\/p>\n P911,
\n +0.26%<\/bg-quote>,<\/span>
\n Oikos and KFC
\n YUM,
\n +0.25%<\/bg-quote>.<\/span>
\n Shilo Sanders\u2019s NIL value stood at $575,000 at the end of last year.<\/p>\nThe NCAA started allowing college athletes to profit from their names, images and likenesses in 2021, ending a years-long crusade by student athletes. Football has been the college sport attracting the most NIL deals, followed by men\u2019s basketball, women\u2019s volleyball and women\u2019s basketball, according to NIL platform Opendorse.<\/p>\n
\u201cNIL money, that\u2019s a real part of college football now,\u201d former University of Colorado and NFL football player Tyler Polumbus told CBS shortly after Sanders took the coaching job at Colorado. \u201cI never thought that Colorado would be able to live in that world and compete in that world, but with Deion Sanders it becomes a whole new land of opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
From the archives (April 2022):<\/strong> Women are set to make more money than men on NIL deals in college basketball<\/p>\nSanders, the coach, is getting paid, too, of course.<\/p>\n
In addition to the $33.5 million he made while playing in the NFL (to say nothing of the nine big-league baseball seasons in which he was an active player), coach Sanders is on a five-year contract with the University of Colorado worth $29.5 million, as reported by the Mississippi Clarion Ledger, with various escalators tied to performance.<\/p>\n
If Sanders continues to have success at Colorado, he\u2019s likely to field even richer offers from bigger-time football schools. At Jackson State, his salary reportedly was just $300,000.<\/p>\n
The wealth coming to Sanders and his top players, including his own offspring, is also accruing to the school and brands attached to \u201cCoach Prime.\u201d<\/p>\n
The university has sold out all home games on the current schedule \u2014 a first in program history \u2014 and he\u2019s selling tens of thousands of $67 \u201cPrime 21\u201d sunglasses, which won\u2019t ship until December. He\u2019s also helping sell merchandise at Colorado\u2019s bookstore \u2014 it\u2019s up 819% this fall vs. 2022 \u2014 and several varieties of Colorado-themed Prime gear are sold out at Nike\u2019s
\n NKE,
\n -0.81%<\/bg-quote>
\n online store.<\/p>\nAlso on Sanders\u2019s radar: trademarks. The six-time NFL All-Pro, two-time Super Bowl champion and Hall of Famer has filed for trademarks on \u201cCoach Prime,\u201d \u201cPrime Effect,\u201d \u201cDaddy Buck\u201d and \u201cIt\u2019s Personal,\u201d according to attorney Josh Gerben of Gerben Intellectual Property.<\/p>\n
Colorado plays at the University of Oregon on Saturday afternoon. The Ducks are ranked No. 10, while Sanders\u2019s Buffaloes, unranked in the preseason, have climbed to No. 19.<\/p>\n
Oregon is a 21-point favorite, according to DraftKings oddsmakers, but 81% of all bets have been placed on Colorado.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n