After leading Michigan to a Big Ten title and a CFP appearance in 2022 as QB1, JJ McCarthy continues to add to his NIL portfolio off the field.
Former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara had a damn good season in 2021. After leading the Wolverines to a 12-2 record by throwing for 2,576 and 15 touchdowns, McNamara was named to the All-Big Ten Third Team and the future looked bright.
Enter JJ McCarthy.
A former five-star recruit with a decorated high school career, McCarthy made spot-duty appearances in 11 games in 2021 behind McNamara as a freshman, but he blossomed into something more during his sophomore season. The two QBs went into fall camp last year in a race for the starting job, and while McNamara opened the season behind center, McCarthy took the reins in Week 2 and never gave them up.
The rest is history — McCarthy threw for 2,719 yards and 22 touchdowns in 2022, leading the Wolverines to the College Football Playoff with a 13-1 record. Today, McNamara is an Iowa Hawkeye.
With an entire offseason as THE guy, there are big expectations in place for McCarthy and Co. And as QB1 of Big Blue, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that the junior signal-caller is also doing well for himself in the name, image, & likeness (NIL) endorsement space in Ann Arbor.
So, just how well is he doing? Boardroom breaks down the growing portfolio of JJ McCarthy NIL deals to date.
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JJ McCarthy NIL Market Value
All data via On3.com’s NIL rankings as of Aug. 24, 2023.
College Football NIL rank: 7
Overall NIL 100 rank: 10
Annual Valuation: $1.3 million
10-week High: $1.4 million
10-week Low: $1.3 million
Total Social Media Followers: 264K (202K on IG, 902 on TikTok, 60K 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.”
Notable JJ McCarthy NIL Deals
Alo Yoga
Heading into the biggest season of his young career, McCarthy inked his biggest NIL pact to date through his partnership with Alo Yoga. McCarthy announced the deal back in May, joining a star-studded athlete roster at Alo that includes Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams of USC.
Topps
Alongside Oregon’s Bo Nix, Topps tapped McCarthy as a headline for its Bowman University Best Football trading card set, which features two chrome autograph cards per master box and one per mini-box.
Bose
Make an appearance in the CFP, get a new NIL deal with Bose.
That’s how it worked out for McCarthy last season, who partnered with the audio brand just before taking on TCU in the Playoff semifinals. It was a smart move by Bose, capitalizing on a player who was ascending in the college football world and had to come back for another season regardless, having been in the program just two years.
Other notable deals: Dunkin’, Wolverine Boots, Essentia Water
More NIL:
