The highest paid college athletes of 2026, like Arch Manning, AJ Dybantsa, and Jeremiah Smith, are already celebrities in their own right. They’ve captured the attention of the sports world by shattering records at the college level. They’ve amassed huge social media followings. And they’ve become objects of imagination, speculation, and hope as they consider going pro. Scroll down for the highest paid NIL athletes (mostly the highest paid college football and highest paid college basketball players).
But first, what exactly does “highest paid college athletes” mean in 2026? The answer is very different from what it was even two years ago. It used to be that college athletes weren’t paid at all, at least not in the sense we typically mean when we speak about employees being paid for their labor. College athletes weren’t paid for their on-the-field performance. Nor were they compensated for the time and effort they put into their off-the-field regimen of training and preparation, a regimen that looks suspiciously like a full-time job. The reason had to do with the NCAA’s longstanding policy of amateurism, which held that college athletes were “amateurs” and thus not eligible for compensation for their on-the-field play.
But when one considers just how much money is in college sports, and that nearly every other aspect of college sports has been monetized, from coaches making millions to media contracts in the billions, the NCAA’s amateur rule became increasingly absurd. California’s Fair Pay to Play Act, passed in 2019, forced the NCAA to revisit its stance, and in 2021 the NCAA implemented an interim policy that allowed student-athletes to profit from their name, image, and likeness (NIL). College athletes could then enter partnerships with brands, sign endorsement deals, sell their autographs and other merchandise, make paid appearances, and so on.
And then came the House. In June 2025, U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken granted final approval to the landmark House v. NCAA antitrust settlement. The deal did two things. First, the NCAA agreed to pay roughly $2.8 billion in back damages to former and current Division I athletes who had been denied NIL earnings during the prior amateurism era. Second, and more consequentially, the settlement opened the door for schools to share revenue directly with their athletes for the first time. Starting July 1, 2025, opted-in Division I schools could share up to $20.5 million per year with their student-athletes, a cap set to rise about 4% annually for the next decade. The 119-year amateurism model, as one headline put it, died with a judge’s pen.
In practice, that means top earners today are stitching together multiple income streams: third-party NIL deals with brands like Nike and Red Bull, collective-funded payments that look suspiciously like signing bonuses, and now revenue-sharing checks paid directly by their schools. The numbers below come from On3’s valuation model, which tries to estimate a 12-month earning ceiling using performance, social media reach, brand profile, and program visibility. They are projections, not pay stubs, and the actual cash an athlete pockets can run higher or lower than the headline figure. As of mid-2025, a clearinghouse called NIL Go (operated by Deloitte) reviews every third-party deal over $600 to check for “fair market value,” though early reporting suggests much of the market is still operating outside that system.
One last thing worth keeping in mind: only some college athletes benefit from any of this. The 50 names below represent the top sliver of a much larger pool. Most of the more than 500,000 NCAA athletes still earn nothing or close to it. The headlines belong to the people on this list. With that out of the way, here are the 50 highest paid college athletes of 2026.
Highest Paid College Athletes – 2026
50) Jada Williams, Arizona Women’s Basketball – $626,000
Rounding out the list is Arizona point guard Jada Williams. Originally an early NIL pioneer in high school, she’s now a veteran leader for the Wildcats. She has more than 1.1 million social media followers, which has fueled deals with brands targeting her under-25 audience.
49) Azzi Fudd, UConn Women’s Basketball – $779,000
UConn shooting guard Azzi Fudd helped the Huskies win the 2025 national championship and has built one of the most polished personal brands in women’s college basketball. Her NIL portfolio includes a high-profile partnership with Nike.
48) Hanna Cavinder, TCU Women’s Basketball – $852,000
One half of the social-media-famous Cavinder twins. Hanna and her sister Haley both returned to college basketball after a brief retirement, and they’re now playing at TCU. Their combined Instagram and TikTok presence has long been a case study in how college athletes can monetize visibility outside of conventional brand-and-game contexts.
47) Haley Cavinder, TCU Women’s Basketball – $889,000
Haley Cavinder edges out her twin on NIL valuation by a hair, thanks largely to her individual brand work with companies like Caktus AI and others targeting the influencer-athlete crossover market.
46) JuJu Watkins, USC Women’s Basketball – $1 million
USC guard JuJu Watkins has maintained her market power despite a torn ACL that sidelined her for the 2025-26 season. In late 2025, she became the first college athlete to take an equity stake in a professional franchise (the NWSL’s Boston Legacy). She also has confirmed deals with Fanatics, Gatorade, and Nike, and remains one of the most marketable players in college basketball even while rehabbing.
45) NiJaree Canady, Texas Tech Softball – $1 million
Canady, a star pitcher at Texas Tech, became one of the first college softball players to crack a seven-figure NIL valuation. She transferred from Stanford after the 2024 season and is widely considered the best pitcher in college softball.
44) Keaton Wagler, Illinois Basketball – $1.1 million
A four-star recruit out of high school, Wagler exploded onto the scene as an Illinois freshman in 2025-26, setting a new Illini freshman single-game scoring record and averaging 17.9 points, 4.4 assists, and 4.8 rebounds per game. He’s now considered a likely NBA lottery pick.
43) Kai Trump, Miami Women’s Golf – $1.2 million
The granddaughter of former President Donald Trump signed with the Miami women’s golf program for the 2025-26 academic year. Her seven-figure NIL valuation is built almost entirely on family-name visibility and social media reach rather than on-course results, and it makes her by far the highest-paid college athlete outside of football and basketball.
42) Caleb Wilson, North Carolina Basketball – $1.3 million
A consensus five-star recruit from the class of 2025, Wilson dominated as a freshman at UNC with 19.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per game before a hand injury cut his season short. He’s expected to be a high lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
41) Aaliyah Chavez, Oklahoma Women’s Basketball – $1.5 million
Chavez arrived at Oklahoma as the No. 1 recruit in the 2025 class and immediately cashed in. Reports indicate Oklahoma’s collective secured her with a package in the seven-figure range, and she’s also expected to sign with Jordan Brand. She averaged 34.9 points per game as a four-year high school starter.
40) Flau’jae Johnson, LSU Women’s Basketball – $1.5 million
LSU senior Flau’jae Johnson holds the top spot in women’s college basketball NIL rankings. On the court, she’s a third-team All-American averaging 13.8 points and approaching LSU’s 2,000-point club. Off the court, she’s a Roc Nation-signed rapper with 20-plus active brand deals (Powerade, Amazon, Doritos, Puma, JBL, Apple Cash, and more) and an equity stake in the Unrivaled professional 3-on-3 league. Johnson has said her brand deals and music career combined add up to around $4.5 million, well above her listed NIL valuation.
39) Carnell Tate, Ohio State Football – $1.5 million
Ohio State junior wide receiver Carnell Tate plays opposite Jeremiah Smith, which means his NIL ceiling is artificially capped by the gravitational pull of his more famous teammate. Even so, his $1.5 million valuation makes him one of the highest-paid non-quarterback football players in the country.
38) David Stone, Defensive Lineman – $1.5 million
Stone, an interior defensive lineman, lands inside the NIL 100 in a position that almost never produces marketable stars. His combination of recruiting hype, social media engagement, and projected NFL draft value pushes him into a tier most defensive linemen never reach.
37) Darryn Peterson, Kansas Basketball – $1.6 million
The No. 1 overall recruit in the 2025 class, Peterson chose Bill Self and Kansas over Kansas State, Ohio State, and USC. He’s a frontrunner to be the No. 1 overall pick in a future NBA Draft, and his NIL profile reflects that ceiling.
36) Braden Smith, Purdue Basketball – $1.7 million
The reigning Bob Cousy Award winner and 2025 Big Ten Player of the Year, Smith bypassed the 2025 NBA Draft to return to Purdue for his senior year. The Boilermakers reportedly built an NIL package worth around $1.7 million to keep him in West Lafayette.
35) Ryan Williams, Alabama Football – $1.8 million
Alabama wide receiver Ryan Williams, the youngest player in college football a year ago, picked up in 2025 right where he left off. His NIL portfolio includes deals with Uber Eats, Hollister, Sally Hansen, Nike, New Era, and Beats by Dre.
34) Jalen Milroe, Alabama Football – $1.9 million
Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe has now exhausted his college eligibility and is draft-bound, but his 2025-26 NIL valuation still places him in the top tier. His earlier deals included partnerships with Rhoback, Beats by Dre, and a handful of regional Alabama-area sponsors.
33) Marcel Reed, Texas A&M Football – $1.9 million
Texas A&M junior quarterback Marcel Reed broke out as the Aggies’ QB1 in 2025 and rode the program’s resurgence into a $1.9 million NIL valuation. A&M’s collective, fueled by one of the largest booster bases in the SEC, has been aggressive in keeping its quarterback rooms paid.
32) Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan Basketball – $2 million
Originally a UAB transfer, Lendeborg was named 2025-26 Big Ten Player of the Year as the leading force on a Michigan team that went 31-3 in the regular season. He reportedly received an NIL package worth around $2-3 million from Michigan to remove his name from the 2025 NBA Draft.
31) Jayden Quaintance, Kentucky Basketball – $2 million
Originally committed to Kentucky out of high school, then flipped to Arizona State, then transferred back to Kentucky after a torn ACL ended his freshman year. He’s expected to be back on the court for 2026-27 and remains a top NBA prospect.
30) Morez Johnson Jr., Michigan Basketball – $2 million
Michigan picked up Johnson out of the transfer portal from Big Ten rival Illinois, then handed him a reported $2 million NIL package. He paid it back with an All-Big Ten Defensive team selection and second-team All-Big Ten honors in 2025-26.
29) Flory Bidunga, Kansas Basketball – $2.1 million
The Kansas sophomore center, originally from Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, has emerged as one of the most disruptive interior defenders in college basketball. His NIL valuation reflects both his Kansas platform and his projected first-round NBA Draft stock.
28) Denzel Aberdeen, Kentucky Basketball – $2.2 million
Aberdeen won the 2025 national title with Florida, then transferred to Kentucky, where he averaged 13.2 points and 3.6 assists for Mark Pope’s squad in 2025-26. The Wildcats reportedly built one of the top three NIL budgets in college basketball, and Aberdeen’s package reflects that aggressive approach.
27) Cameron Boozer, Duke Basketball – $2.2 million
The son of two-time NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer, Cameron committed to Duke as a five-star recruit and lived up to the billing immediately. In 2025-26, he averaged 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists entering the NCAA Tournament, locking himself in as a top-three pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. The Boozer name plus the Duke platform plus his on-court production combine to produce one of the most well-rounded NIL profiles in the sport.
26) Darian Mensah, Miami Football – $2.2 million
Mensah’s path to Miami was the most legally complicated in the 2025 transfer cycle. He signed an approximately $8 million two-year deal with Duke after transferring from Tulane in December 2024, then transferred again to Miami, triggering a contract-enforceability dispute that’s still working its way through the courts. The case is the closest thing yet to a test of whether NIL collective deals are binding when players move on before fulfilling them.
25) Dylan Raiola, Nebraska Football – $2.3 million
Nebraska’s junior quarterback comes from football lineage: his father was an NFL lineman, and his cousin Dominique Raiola spent 14 years with the Detroit Lions. The pedigree fueled NIL interest before his first college start and has continued to grow as he’s developed into one of the more accurate young passers in the Big Ten.
24) Jayden Maiava, USC Football – $2.4 million
Maiava took over USC’s starting job midway through 2024 and has ascended ever since under Lincoln Riley. The combination of the Trojans’ Los Angeles platform and Riley’s quarterback-development reputation pushed Maiava’s valuation into the upper tier even though he wasn’t a top-ranked recruit out of high school.
23) Caleb Downs, Ohio State Football – $2.4 million
Ohio State safety Caleb Downs is the highest-valued defender in college football, which says something about how unusual it is for safeties to break through the NIL ceiling. The former SEC Freshman of the Year transferred from Alabama to Ohio State and added an exclusive Panini America deal to existing partnerships with Beats by Dre, Celsius, and American Eagle. He’s widely projected as a top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
22) Julian Sayin, Ohio State Football – $2.4 million
Sayin’s 32-touchdown redshirt freshman season at Ohio State in 2024 put him on the national radar, and he’s continued to develop heading into 2026. His $2.4 million valuation would probably be higher if he played at a program that didn’t have Jeremiah Smith competing for the same advertising dollars.
21) Josh Hoover, TCU Football – $2.5 million
A three-year starter at TCU, Hoover has been one of the top passers in college football in 2025. His reported deal with the TCU NIL collective is worth approximately $2.5 million.
20) Ty Simpson, Alabama Football – $2.5 million
Simpson was among the betting favorites for the 2025 Heisman Trophy after leading Alabama to a strong season. He’s now draft-bound for 2026, but his 2025-26 NIL portfolio still placed him in the top 25 thanks to Alabama’s national brand and his on-field rise.
19) Dylan Stewart, South Carolina Football – $2.5 million
The South Carolina edge rusher is the only pure defensive football player in the top 20. His valuation isn’t built on traditional counting stats but on highlight-reel pressure clips that travel well on social media, plus widespread expectation that he’ll be a high first-round NFL Draft pick.
18) PJ Haggerty, Memphis Basketball – $2.6 million
Memphis guard PJ Haggerty is one of the highest-valued college basketball players outside the traditional power conferences. Memphis benefits from a unique NIL infrastructure thanks to FedEx’s five-year, $25 million partnership with the school, the largest publicly disclosed corporate NIL deal in college sports.
17) Fernando Mendoza, Indiana Football – $2.6 million
Mendoza’s 2025 Heisman run at Indiana was one of the season’s biggest stories, as he led the Hoosiers to their first Big Ten title and a College Football Playoff appearance. His valuation climbed steadily through the season as the wins piled up, and he closed the year with a major Adidas partnership. He’s now bound for the 2026 NFL Draft.
16) JT Toppin, Texas Tech Basketball – $2.8 million
Texas Tech forward JT Toppin chose to return for his junior year rather than enter the 2025 NBA Draft, backed by a reported $4 million NIL package from the Red Raiders. He was averaging 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds when his season ended in February 2026 with a torn ACL at Arizona State, but the deal still stands as proof that the right collective package can outcompete early professional money.
15) John Mateer, Oklahoma Football – $2.8 million
Mateer transferred from Washington State to Oklahoma after the 2024 season and immediately became the highest-paid player in Sooners history. His Beats Elite partnership was unusual in that he reportedly used part of the deal to secure headphones for the entire Oklahoma roster, which became one of the more publicized acts of NIL-era teammate generosity.
14) Cam Coleman, Texas Football – $2.9 million
Coleman transferred from Auburn to Texas in the 2025 cycle, reportedly receiving around $2 million as part of the move. His arrival in Austin pushed his On3 valuation up roughly $1 million almost overnight, the combined effect of joining Arch Manning in a Texas “super-roster” and tapping into Austin’s luxury-endorsement market.
13) Dante Moore, Oregon Football – $3 million
Moore turned down the 2026 NFL Draft to return to Oregon, a decision tied to a multi-year return package that some outlets have pegged at over $10 million in total value. Oregon’s NIL muscle, fueled by Nike co-founder Phil Knight’s cumulative donations of more than $1 billion to the university, makes the Ducks one of the few programs that can keep a draft-ready quarterback on campus through pure financial gravity.
12) Brendan Sorsby, Texas Tech Football – $3.1 million
Sorsby’s move to Texas Tech was the most-talked-about quarterback transfer of the 2025 cycle. His deal was reportedly fully guaranteed with a specific payment deadline, a contract structure that’s said to have caused other programs to pause their quarterback negotiations until they understood the new benchmark.
11) Bryce Underwood, Michigan Football – $3.1 million
Underwood’s flip from LSU to Michigan in late 2024, when he was still in high school, produced a four-year NIL package reported by multiple outlets at $10.5 million in base value (potentially reaching $12 million over the full term). The Champions Circle collective led the effort, backed by Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and his wife Jolin Zhu, a Michigan alumna. Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy reportedly helped facilitate the introduction. It remains the largest recruiting NIL deal in college football history.
10) Drew Allar, Penn State Football – $3.1 million
Penn State quarterback Drew Allar has built one of the more conventional NIL portfolios near the top of the board, with steady major-brand deals and a stable Penn State platform that produces consistent national television exposure week after week.
9) Cade Klubnik, Clemson Football – $3.4 million
Clemson’s longtime starting quarterback Klubnik returned for his senior season in 2025 and continued to build out his NIL portfolio, which is anchored by his standing as one of the most experienced returning starters in the country.
8) DJ Lagway, Florida Football – $3.7 million
Lagway’s NIL valuation hit $3.7 million heading into 2026 on the back of major hype, top-recruit pedigree, and a Florida program that has aggressively positioned itself as a top-tier NIL spender. Off the field, his portfolio leans more on long-term brand-development bets than active partnerships, a pattern common at the very top of the market.
7) LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina Football – $3.7 million
Sellers chose to return to South Carolina for 2026 despite external interest that reportedly approached eight figures. The Gamecocks’ collective put together one of the most aggressive returning-starter packages in the SEC to keep him in Columbia.
6) Garrett Nussmeier, LSU Football – $3.7 million
LSU’s senior quarterback finished 2025-26 with one of the larger NIL portfolios in the SEC. His deals include Nike, Powerade, and Raising Cane’s. He’s now headed for the 2026 NFL Draft, where he’s projected as one of the top quarterbacks in the class.
5) Sam Leavitt, LSU Football – $4 million
With Nussmeier draft-bound, Leavitt’s move to LSU vaulted him into the very top tier of the NIL market. His valuation reflects both his individual talent and LSU’s willingness to pay at the top of the market to rebuild its quarterback room.
4) AJ Dybantsa, BYU Basketball – $4.2 million
The consensus No. 1 recruit in the 2025 class chose BYU over Duke, Kansas, and North Carolina, with reports pegging his NIL package at close to $7 million. On the court, he’s lived up to the hype: leading the nation at 25.1 points per game while also adding 6.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists. He’s reportedly the first college athlete to appear on a Red Bull can, and his other deals include Nike and Fanatics. He’s projected to be a top-three pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
3) Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State Football – $4.2 million
Smith’s freshman year at Ohio State in 2024 culminated in a national championship and arguably the most decorated true freshman wide receiver season in recent memory. Heading into 2026, he holds the third-highest NIL valuation of any college athlete and the highest of any non-quarterback football player. His portfolio includes Adidas, Red Bull, EA Sports College Football 26 (as a cover athlete), Nintendo, American Eagle, 7-Eleven, Lululemon, and Mark Wahlberg Auto Group. He also turned down what he described as an offer “over $10 million, easy” to transfer, most widely speculated to have come from Miami.
2) Carson Beck, Miami Football – $4.3 million
Beck’s transfer from Georgia to Miami before the 2025 season produced a deal reported at around $4 million annually, which at the time established a new benchmark for portal quarterbacks. He’s now headed for the 2026 NFL Draft after a season that mixed flashes of brilliance with the kind of inconsistency that typically follows a high-profile transfer into a new offense.
1) Arch Manning, Texas Football – $5.4 million
Topping the list of the highest paid college athletes in 2026 is Texas quarterback Arch Manning, whose On3 valuation of $5.4 million is the highest figure of any college athlete in any sport. His 2025 NIL earnings reportedly exceeded $6 million, which one analyst pointed out was more than the base salary of New England Patriots starting quarterback Drake Maye on his rookie contract. As the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning and the grandson of Archie, he arrived at Texas with a legacy brand that no amount of marketing could manufacture. His confirmed deals include Red Bull, Vuori, Uber, Raising Cane’s, Warby Parker, and Panini America. In March 2026, he added a Google Gemini campaign pitching the AI tool to students. Worth noting: Manning has reportedly taken a reduced share of Texas’s football revenue-sharing pool for 2026 so the program can allocate resources elsewhere on the roster, an unusual structured give-back that’s consistent with the patient approach he’s publicly described.
Highest Paid College Athletes – Additional Resources
In conclusion, we invite you to check out some of our other blogs on college athletics:
25 Highest Paid College Basketball Coaches
Biggest College Football Rivalries
