After finding his way back to Texas, QB Quinn Ewers is making waves in the NIL game. Boardroom breaks down his portfolio.
Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers is pretty well-traveled for a 20-year-old.
Considered by many to be the top recruit in the Class of 2022, Ewers — born and raised in the Longhorn State — initially committed to Texas in early 2020. But later that same year, the signal-caller made the decision to de-commit and flip to Ohio State. After completing his junior campaign in high school that fall, Ewers reclassified to the 2021 class and enrolled early with the Buckeyes.
But with a quarterback room that already featured future top NFL Draft pick CJ Stroud, Ewers found himself mostly on the bench his first season in Columbus, and with Stroud set to return for another season, Ewers didn’t want to wait around for his opportunity. Shortly after entering his name into the transfer portal at the end of the 2021 season, the Texas native returned to his roots and re-joined the Longhorns program.
A redshirt freshman in 2022, Ewers went on to start 10 games, throwing for 2,177 yards and 15 touchdowns. With a full year under his belt, the QB1 (with a short leash and the hyped-up Arch Manning waiting in the wings) has high expectations after a season that saw him earn some honorable mention votes for Big 12 Newcomer of the Year.
It’s safe to say his career on the field has worked out better in Austin, but Ewers is also benefiting in the name, image, & likeness space since returning to his home state. Let’s break down Ewer’s NIL portfolio to this point.
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Quinn Ewers NIL Market Value
All data via On3.com’s NIL rankings as of Aug. 23, 2023.
College Football NIL rank: 10
Overall NIL 100 rank: 15
Annual Valuation: $1.2 million
10-week High: $1.2 million
10-week Low: $1.1 million
Total Social Media Followers: 208,000 (154K on IG, 54K on X)
The above monetary figures are via On3’s NIL Valuation, a proprietary algorithm that “establishes the overall NIL market and projected 12-month growth rate by measuring two categories, Brand Value Index and Roster Value Index.”
“While the algorithm includes deal data, it does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals athletes have completed to date, nor does it set an athlete’s NIL valuation for their entire career.”
Similar to Bo Nix — and again, mostly just a trend among college football athletes, in general — Ewers doesn’t really use his social media all the much in order to leverage NIL deals. While he will make a promotional post now and then, as is standard with many of these agreements, it’s his appeal outside of social media that is drawing in companies — not his follower count.
Taking it even further than some of these other CFB folks, Ewers doesn’t even have a TikTok account, per On3. Perhaps that changes this season, but he seems to be doing pretty well without it.
Notable Quinn Ewers NIL Deals
Panini
Panini has been making waves in the NIL space across college football, specifically within the Texas QB room. In addition to signing one with backup Arch Manning, the trading card company signed an exclusive deal with Ewers as well. With how valuable the Longhorns brand has been over the years, it’s not all that surprising to see the company double-dip on two talented, young QBs.
Sonic
Ewers signed a deal with popular food chain Sonic in the middle of the 2022 campaign, and while details of the deal were not disclosed, the Texas QB made sure to let his followers know in a since-deleted video: “I don’t know what it is but that SONIC ice just gets me.”
Sonic also signed Ewers’ teammate Xavier Worthy.
Fortnite
Ewers and Worthy have a connection on the field — and in NIL. On top of the Sonic deal above, Ewers agreed to an NIL partnership with the popular video game Fortnite alongside his teammate, Worthy, who makes an appearance in Ewers’ social post below.
Other notable deals: Ryl Tea, Octane Football, Wrangler
More NIL:
