Quinn Ewers opted to reclassify and join the Ohio State football team a year early so he would have the opportunity to begin profiting from his name, image and likeness right now, but he isn’t the only Buckeye quarterback setting himself up to make money this fall.
Even though none of them have thrown a pass in an Ohio State game yet, the three scholarship quarterbacks currently on the Buckeyes’ roster – C.J. Stroud, Jack Miller and Kyle McCord – each said this week that they’ve already been approached with opportunities to start getting paid for their NIL.
None of them were ready to publicly announce any endorsement deals yet, but Stroud and McCord have both already signed with high-profile agencies for NIL representation. Stroud is being represented by David Mulugheta of Athletes First – who also represents former Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields and previously represented former Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins – while McCord signed with A.J. Vaynerchuk of Vayner Sports, whose early NIL clients also include Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei and Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder.
Welcome to the family @kylemccord16 #NIL #vaynersports pic.twitter.com/2bZUE9BEZZ
— VaynerSports (@vaynersports) August 3, 2021
“He’s been a guy that’s been a great guy to me. Even outside of the sports world, since like sophomore year of high school, I’ve had a great relationship with him. And then once NIL became official, we had a really good conversation and we met,” McCord said. “So I feel like we had a great conversation. We were in the same place, and we shared some similar ideas, so it just felt right and I went ahead and signed with him.”
McCord said he and Vaynerchuk have shared several ideas with each other, and Miller said he has had “a few opportunities” that aren’t public yet. Stroud said he hasn’t “really done anything big yet,” but that he has “had my fair share of conversations, and things that I’m trying to get accomplished.”
All of them are grateful that they’ll have the opportunity to make money while they’re still at Ohio State, unlike previous Buckeye quarterbacks, who likely would have received plenty of endorsement offers had NCAA rules allowed them to at the time.
“I definitely have been trying to exercise my rights in NIL and do it the right way. So I think it’s very exciting for all of our college players to be able to make money that we’re supposed to make,” Stroud said. “I talk to Cardale Jones a lot, and he always rambles about how he should have got paid. So I think it’s cool that we can start to get paid.”
McCord said he believes players being able to profit from their name, image and likeness is “long overdue,” and Miller expressed a similar sentiment.
“I think it’s awesome and I think it’s great that we’re finally moving in a direction that we’re finally moving in a direction where guys can make money off of their own name, image and likeness,” Miller said.
At the same time, though, the quarterbacks recognize they can’t let their new money-making opportunities distract them from their development as football players.
“My focus right now is fall camp and being the best quarterback I can be,” Stroud said. “I don’t really want to chase money. I just love the game, so I just want to play.”
That’s been a point of emphasis from Ryan Day to his players as the new era of college sports has begun. While he knows his players, especially whoever becomes the starting quarterback, should be in a position to cash in, he wants them to focus first on taking care of their business on the field and in the classroom.
“I think that stuff will happen naturally, and I think the focus for all those guys just has to be development,” Day said at Big Ten Media Days. “If they're worried about starting, if they're worried about money, then they're worried about the wrong things. Those things happen and they will come naturally.”
Of course, it’s in Ohio State’s best interest for Stroud, Miller, McCord and Ewers to cash in, as Day and the Buckeyes can use that as a recruiting pitch for future quarterbacks and even for its current quarterbacks – specifically those who don’t win the starting job – as a reason for them to stay in Columbus.
“The quarterback at Ohio State, that’s as big as it gets,” Day said. “When you combine the brand of Ohio State, you combine the brand of Ohio State football, you combine the city of Columbus with our social media presence, it's like the perfect alignment. So the opportunity for our guys is going to be unlike anywhere else in the country.”
“I talk to Cardale Jones a lot, and he always rambles about how he should have got paid.”– C.J. Stroud
Those factors were already a reason why highly touted quarterback recruits like Stroud, McCord and Miller chose to become Buckeyes, and the fact that those factors can now help them get paid while they’re still in college have only made being a Buckeye more appealing.
“That was one of the reasons I came here was the brand and the atmosphere of Ohio State, so I definitely took that into consideration with NIL, and I’m definitely excited and blessed to be able to have the opportunity to make money,” Stroud said.
As those quarterbacks compete for the starting job in preseason camp, NIL is just one more incentive for them to put their best foot forward and try to win the job, as an Ohio State starting quarterback who plays well for the Buckeyes stands to reap immediate financial rewards by becoming one of the most marketable players in college football.
“Being the quarterback at Ohio State, I don’t think there’s a better opportunity than that,” McCord said.
