Drew Dixon
The University of Florida (UF) has more name, image and likeness (NIL) deals for its university athletes than any other college in the U.S., according to justgamblers.com, an online gambling website.
NIL deals are the recent developments in college sports that allow college athletes to get financial compensation for using their identities to promote athletic programs in college sports. UF far exceeds any other college in America with the NIL deals. Justgamblers.com found that UF ranked first in the country with NIL deals at 498 athletes.
That outpaced the second-place college, the University of Texas in Austin, which had 367 NIL deals in the past year, and Ohio State University ranked third with 286 NIL student-athletes. The data used to compose the list was from NIL deals reported as of May 30, and the top 10 list does not involve any NIL deals granted since that date.
The top 10 college list involves all athletes in different programs as well. The list used the number of announced NIL deals instead of their monetary value since those figures are unavailable.
“It’s thrilling to see young stars rising and getting the recognition they deserve. Until 2021, college athletes were not permitted to make any money from their success, even if they were playing in packed stadiums and live on prime-time television,” said Patrik Liden, spokesperson for gamblers.com. “The numbers in this data and their success show that now their hard work and commitment can pay off financially and are a testament to the incredible talent and dedication of university athletic programs.”
The University of Florida was the only school in the Sunshine State in the top 10 list. California was the only state with more than one college in the top 10. Stanford University ranked fifth with 226 NIL deals, and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) ranked ninth with 190 NIL students.
While the online gambling site compiled the Top 10 schools with the most NIL deals, they provided a breakout list of the Top 10 college football athletes and their rankings. UF is represented there, too, with Gators quarterback Graham Mertz listed third on the individual ranking with 18 NIL deals.
Chase Griffin, quarterback for the UCLA Bruins, was ranked first among college football players with individual NIL deals with 28. He was followed by University of Texas Longhorns signal caller Quinn Ewers, who had 26 NIL deals. The Longhorns had two other players in the top 10 NIL deals list, and only the Colorado Buffalos had more than one player on that list, with two in the top 10.
