NILSU: Garrett Nussmeier Cracks On3's Top-10 Highest Paid College Athletes

On3 currently projects LSU's QB1, Garrett Nussmeier, to have a 3.6 million dollar NIL valuation. That currently ranks 9th among all college athletes and 5th among all college football quarterbacks. 

After throwing for over 4,000 yards and nearly 30 touchdowns in his first season as a starter, Garrett Nussmeier's NIL valuation has grown a lot. He's become one of the biggest names in college football, and many are expecting him to take a Joe Burrow or Jayden Daniels-like leap in 2025 and contend for the Heisman Trophy and a national championship.

It was always going to take a lot of money to get him to return to school in 2025, especially because he was a projected first or second round pick in the NFL Draft, and now we have a pretty good idea on just how much he's going to make in his final season at LSU.

Here are the top-10 college athletes with the highest NIL valuations, per On3:

• Arch Manning, 6.5 million
• Cooper Flagg, 4.8 million
• Carson Beck, 4.3 million
• Livvy Dunne, 4.1 million
• Jeremiah Smith, 4 million
• AJ Dybantsa, 3.8 million
• DJ Lagway, 3.6 million
• LaNorris Sellers, 3.7 million
• Garrett Nussmeier, 3.6 million
• Cade Klubnik, 3.3 million

Coincidentally, the No. 9 and No. 10 highest-paid athletes will go head-to-head on August 30th. Kade Klubnik, Clemson's starting quarterback, has a 3.3 million dollar valuation, which projects him as the 10th highest-paid college athlete in the country.

If Garrett Nussmeier can deliver a College Football Playoff berth and possibly even a national championship, he'll be worth every penny he's making. It's insane to think about how much these kids are making now, but that's just the world we live in with NIL.