Ben Deihl | sports editor

We’re currently in a college football climate where some of the top players in the country are evaluated by their social media following. In On3’s NIL100 college football transfer portal rankings, players’ Instagram, TikTok and X follower counts are displayed right next to their high school star ranking, playing a pivotal role in how these athletes are rated and eventually signed to programs and schools.

“Recruits now ask if there are NIL opportunities for them at schools,” Duquesne Head Coach Jerry Schmitt said. “We’ve done transfers here for years, but that’s something we’ve had to adjust to.”

Take Arch Manning for example. As Peyton and Eli Manning’s nephew, Arch has unprecedented family success playing at the highest level of football while also giving him prestige when it comes to his name. A 5-star recruit out of high school, Manning’s NIL evaluation sits at $5.3 million this year, partnering with brands like Redbull, Uber and Raising Cane’s.

Now compare Manning’s numbers to the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner, Fernando Mendoza. Mendoza’s NIL evaluation is at $2.6 million, almost exactly half of Manning’s despite being named as the most outstanding player in college football as he led his Indiana Hoosiers to a National Championship victory.

Mendoza’s evaluation got a huge boost in December as he signed a brand deal with Adidas, one of the biggest athletic wear companies. Before then, his NIL profile was below $1 million despite leading the country in touchdowns for the majority of the season. In a market where better performance gets you bigger contracts, it’s head scratching how far prestige and popularity can carry players in today’s climate.

It’s remarkable to think that college players like Manning can make as much, if not more, per year than some of the NFL’s rising superstars, but that idea is now reality.

Drake Maye has taken the NFL by storm in 2025, becoming an MVP frontrunner in just his second year at quarterback, and first with Head Coach Mike Vrabel. Although a young player, it can be easily assumed that Maye earns a pretty penny for his contributions to the Patriots and his MVP-caliber play.

From his contract breakdown, Maye earns a $1.1 million base salary in 2025, along with a $3 million roster bonus, meaning Maye takes home around $4.1 million every year. Maye also got a $23.4 million signing bonus after he was drafted by New England in 2023. But in a year-by-year salary breakdown, college athletes like Manning are out-earning some of the top NFL players.

“For the top 10%, it’s very lucrative,” Schmitt said. “But there’s the lower 80% that might not find homes to get their college degree and will get little to no earnings.”

Although he has become more of a controversial figure in recent weeks, Puka Nacua’s contract is even wilder than Maye’s. Widely considered one of the most athletically talented wide receivers in the NFL, Nacua is also still on his rookie deal, currently in his third year in the NFL.

Nacua’s rookie contract is four years, $4.08 million with a $245,000 signing bonus added to his rookie year.

Nacua commented on a live stream that with current Los Angeles housing prices, he’s still forced to rent due to his rookie contract, while college athletes like Manning outearn him.

Demond Williams Jr. became the talk of modern era college football in early January, as the Washington Huskies quarterback said he planned to stay at UW in a statement soon after Washington’s 38-10 L.A. Bowl victory over Boise State in mid December.

With his commitment, Williams signed a new NIL contract with Washington to keep him at the university for the 2026 season. But just days after his initial declaration, Williams stated that he was entering the transfer portal.

“We lose more transfers than we ever have in the past,” Schmitt said. “For many, many years, we really never lost players. Now, on a yearly basis, we’re having guys enter the transfer portal. And with that, a lot of our time now goes into roster management.”

Rumors swirled that newly-appointed LSU head coach Lane Kiffin tampered during Williams’ signing, potentially reaching out to the quarterback to float a heftier paycheck. While nothing was proven and Williams withdrew from the portal and apologized days later, red flags have been waving in the modern era of NIL.

Now with players signing contracts to stay with programs or entering the transfer portal, college football has become a perpetual cycle of free agency. Players can choose to come and go on their own accord, moving to the highest bidder with no restrictions. Most contracts are one- to two-year deals, players can sign their own brand deals.

Ohio State and Head Coach Ryan Day took the nation by storm last year by being open and honest about their NIL spending, as the Buckeyes spent over $20 million to assemble their National Championship roster, led by top wide receiver Jeremiah Smith and veteran quarterback Will Howard. Despite not starting in 2024, quarterback Julian Sayin still ate up $2.5 million in NIL money for the Buckeyes, while Smith earned $4.2 million.

According to an analysis by ESPN’s Max Olson, a Power Four university averages around $7.35 million in NIL to build their college football rosters, and that metric doesn’t include third-party sponsorships or deals each player can get.

Complete NIL spending through player contracts and brand deals reached new heights in 2025, as both Ohio State and Texas A&M each spent an estimated $30 million on their rosters. Although both reached the College Football Playoffs, both the Aggies and Buckeyes were first-round exits, while Indiana’s $9.9 million roster won the National Championship.

“You have so many of these young men and women losing their [college] opportunity to chase the immediate dollar,” Schmitt said.

Ben Deihl can be reached at deihlb1@duq.edu