These Are the Top-Earning Athletes in College Sports

The days of college athletes having to scrape by on Ramen noodles is over, as today, top-earning athletes in high school and college are allowed to profit from their name, image, and likeness, referred to as NIL. That said, it totally makes sense that some college athletes are making millions of dollars as they work with big-named brands, such as Gatorade, State Farm and Nike. So, who are the top-earning athletes in college sports?

March Madness is in full swing, and the Final Four happens this weekend. March Madness is a big time for athletes to rake in the NIL bucks. I've watched a lot of the NCAA Tournament games this year, and I've seen so many ads with University of Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark. She's just one of the players during March Madness that's striking lucrative NIL deals.

"There's a significant uptick in interest in March Madness sponsorships and influencer-marketing campaigns this year as compared to years past," Ayden Syal, CEO of NIL marketing platform MOGL, told Business Insider. In addition, Business Insider reports that NIL deals "have become a billion-dollar industry since their introduction to amateur sports in 2021, allowing student-athletes to make significant amounts of money regardless of whether they have the option to turn pro." It's wild to think that in just a few years, these NIL deals have blown up so big.

Of the top 10 top-earning athletes in college sports, three of them are women. No. 8 on the list is Louisiana State University basketball star Angel Reese, who has deals with Coach and McDonald's, according to Business Insider. Her NIL Valuation is $1.8 million. Clark comes in at No. 4, with her special deals giving her a NIL Valuation of $3.1 million. Finally, LSU gymnast and social media star Livvy Dunne is the highest-paid woman in NIL history. Her NIL Valuation is an impressive $3.6 million. All of these ladies are raking in the dough with endorsements and commercials, and they deserve it. As for the top-earning athletes that are men, coming in at No. 2 on the list is Deion Sanders' son, Shedeur Sanders. He has an On3 NIL Valuation of $4.7 million. Lastly, No. 1 on the tally is the son of NBA legend LeBron James, Bronny James. He has an On3 NIL Valuation of $4.9 million.

The NCAA Tournament's Final Four happens this weekend for both the men's and women's teams. On Saturday (April 6), N.C. State will play Purdue at 6:09 p.m. EST, and Alabama will compete against UConn at 8:49 p.m. EST. For the women, N.C. State will take on South Carolina on Friday (April 5) at 7 p.m. EST, and UConn and Iowa will play at 9:30 p.m. EST.

October is a magical month for sports fans where all four major American sports leagues are active. The NBA and NHL have begun new seasons. The NFL is well underway, and the MLB Postseason is in full swing. The temperatures might be dipping, but the intensity is rising for many teams.

With arenas and stadiums packed with fans once again, this got us thinking about all of those incredible sports anthems that provide the much-needed soundtrack during any given game. From rock to hip hop to EDM to pop, here are the 25 best sports anthems, ranked.

Here’s the beginning of a theme that’s going to run through this entire list. A great sports anthem needs a killer hook that’s going to pump up the crowd. Whether you’re a Kesha fan or not, the thumping chorus of “Blow” never fails to get people going regardless of how much you might want to deny it.

“And every time I step up in the building, everybody hands go up/And they stay there.” People love a victory song, and they also love to do synchronized movements together with hordes of other fans. This is why DJ Khaled’s “All I Do Is Win” is so perfect. Sure, he’s a selfish, greedy lover, but the dude knows how to put out bangers.

Naughty By Nature’s “Hip Hop Hooray” was seemingly tailor-made for sports arenas. A simple chorus will do that, not to mention everyone rocking and swaying during the chorus in the music video. It’s been an arena classic since it first dropped in 1992. Plus, it’s funny seeing people trying to rap along with Treach and Vin Rock on the verses.

Synth riffs rule! If you say they don’t, it must be exhausting kidding yourself so much. “The Final Countdown” has been a sports anthem for decades, especially in the United States. However, the Swedish band wasn’t really aware of it until the 2000s. Europe singer and “The Final Countdown” songwriter Joey Tempest said in a 2005 interview, “I did an interview about a year ago with a newspaper from America and they talked about how much it's been used in sports in America… which I didn't know so much about. Apparently, it has been used a lot and it was nice to hear.”

Some acts are here for a fun time, not a long time. While Tag Team was a one-hit wonder with “Whoomp (There It Is),” that hit has massive staying power thanks to its use in a number of movies – from D2: The Mighty Ducks to Elf – and countless time outs at sports events. Can you dig it? We can dig it!

Just going to say what we’re all thinking: Randy Rhoads’ classic guitar riff is so powerful and transcendent it could get a funeral hyped up. (Someone try it and report back!) Facetiousness aside, “Crazy Train” has been whipping sports fans into a frenzy for decades, and there’s no stopping this locomotive beast any time soon.

The only thing that’s going to outlive Keith Richards is the way people pop as soon as they hear the iconic opening riff to “Start Me Up.” It’s a jolt and the perfect song to play if an arena crowd has lost a bit of energy when their team is trailing.

“Enter Sandman” is one of a few tunes on this list that’s both a universal anthem and also uniquely associated with a specific team or athlete. In this case, it’s hard not to imagine legendary closer Mariano Rivera jogging from the bullpen to the mound when hearing “Enter Sandman.” Fun fact: The unanimously-elected Baseball Hall of Famer doesn’t actually like Metallica. He told MLB Network in January 2019, “With all due respect to the guys, I’ve never been to one [of their concerts]. As a Christian, with all due respect to Metallica, I don’t listen to that kind of music.”

“Hey! Ho! Let’s go!” It doesn’t take a genius to realize why this Ramones classic is an outstanding sports anthem. Sure, Tommy and Dee Dee Ramone probably didn’t have sports fans in mind when they wrote the song, but it’s another example of songs taking on different meanings after they’re released.

Young man, are you listening to me? People love simple dances. If you can do the dance after a couple (or a lot) of overpriced beers, that’s even better. Try and deny it all you want, but “Y.M.C.A.” will live forever and will get people moving whether you’re at a sporting event, a wedding, a bar/bat mitzvah or whatever you feel.

It took a bit, but techno has finally made its way into this list. You may not recognize the artist or title of this song, but if you’ve attended a sporting event in the past two decades, you most definitely have heard “Kernkraft 400.” Jump to the 1:55 mark in the video below, and you’ll likely say out loud, “Oh! This song!”

When Steve Perry, Jonathan Cain and Neal Schon wrote “Don’t Stop Believin’,” they probably had no idea how big of an impact the song would make in the sports world. Perry likely didn’t think it would become a rallying song for the 2005 Chicago White Sox and would lead to him being invited to watch the team win the World Series, let alone get to party with them in the locker room and attend the championship parade. The track is also important to Perry’s hometown team, the San Francisco Giants, who play “Don’t Stop Believin’” during the 8th inning of every home game. Lastly, Detroit Red Wings fans have screamed “born and raised in south Detroit” at home games for years when the song plays at the end of a winning home game. Sure, there is no “South Detroit,” and geographically speaking, south of Detroit is Windsor, Ontario, Canada, but it’s all in good fun.