Ohio State Football: C.J. Stroud, Jaxon Smith-Njigba have big NIL deals

The Ohio State football program has used NIL to its advantage since it became legal. In fact, they lead the country in NIL compensation. The Buckeyes know that they have to use all of the tools available to them to keep their roster intact, as well as get new recruits.

We now know just how much some of these guys are getting paid in total NIL compensation. According to ON3 Sports, C.J. Stroud is the second-highest paid college football player in the country. He is making $2.4 million in compensation. Jaxon Smith-Nijgba is 6th, earning $1.4 million.

This makes sense to me. The two best players on the offense are making the most money in NIL. Those two are going to combine for a lot of touchdowns this year just like they did last year. Boosters want to give money to kids who help the team win.

While it’s great that these guys are getting this much money, I do think the Ohio State football program will need to redistribute the NIL money more effectively soon. They need to be able to get top recruits as well as keep the players they already have on the roster happy.

The top-paid college football player is last year’s Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young, which makes sense. He is making a whopping $3.1 million in compensation. Ohio State doesn’t need to pay quite that much for its top players. It’s good to see they have two in the top six though.

I’m really interested to see what they do with NIL compensation this upcoming year going into the next offseason. these are uncharted waters and everyone is learning on the fly what the best practices are. Ohio State is certainly learning too.

NIL money will only continue to increase, so get ready for these players to get paid outrageous amounts.