Student athletes Bronny James and Shedeur Sanders are two of the biggest names in the NIL space and they’re not even of legal drinking age.
James, son of LeBron and Sanders, son Deion, have cumulatively made millions of dollars from brand deals per reports. James is an incoming USC freshman.
According to Daily Loud, Bronny earned about $5.9 million from his NIL contracts with brands like Nike, Beats by Dre and PSD Underwear among others. The young teen has yet to play one game yet.
Trailing just behind James is Colorado Buffaloes quarterback Shadeur Sanders, who reportedly pulled in $4.8 million from his deals.
Other star athletes are securing high-paying NIL deals based on their athletic prowess and future professional earning potential as well. Angel Reese, for example is one of the highest college basketball players,
The LSU star player revealed in an April interview with the I Am Athlete podcast that she makes more than most professional athletes twice her age. “The money I’m making is more than some of the people that are in the league that might be top players.
Around that time, she was highest-earning NCAA player on NIL list, male or female.
As previously reported by ESSENCE, Sponsors United had stated in April 2023 that Reese’s 17 NIL deals places her in fifth place in college sports behind:
Rayquan Smith, Norfolk State, football and track, 66 deals
Ky’Wuan Dukes, Johnson C. Smith University, football, 29 deals
Lauren Burke, Texas, softball, 22 deals
Jon Seaton, Elon, football, 18 deals
On the college hoops front, Reese is ahead of Miami’s Cavinder twins (Haley and Hanna) and the men’s CBB leader, North Carolina’s Armando Bancot, who have 16 deals each.
Per an On3 report, Reese had earning $392,000/year on endorsement deals with companies like Bose, JanSport, McDonald’s, Outback Steakhouse, Xfinity, among others.