Nowadays when athletes like Olivia “Livvy” Dunne and Shedeur Sanders are making north of $4 million, it seems like so long ago that college athletes were unable to be paid a cent.
Reggie Bush became the most recent (and probably most prominent) athlete to sue the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for not receiving money for his name, image and likeness (NIL). The NCAA introduced NIL to college athletics during July of 2021, and since then the NCAA was forced to pay $2.7 billion in April, 2024 to current and former athletes who missed out on the opportunity.
I would be upset too if I was Reggie Bush, the 2005 Heisman Award winner and one of the best players college football has ever seen, and I saw Bryce James making $1.3 million in high school.
With more lawsuits to come the NCAA’s way, now seems like a fitting time to look back in history at the college athletes who lost serious money for not playing in the NIL era.
Johnny Manziel
I mean, you had to know he’d be on this list.
Manziel was the first ever freshman to win the Heisman Award in 2012 — and had one of the greatest and most controversial collegiate football careers. Nicknamed “Johnny Football,” he actually made money in college from signing autographs and revealed in his Netflix documentary he made around $33,000. Manziel was also famous for his “money Manziel” celebration which is still seen at many sporting events today.
Texas A&M has never been more prominent than when Johnny Manziel was behind center. In the offseason after Manziel went to the NFL, the university went through a $450 million renovation on Kyle Field. The field is famously recognized as the “House that Johnny Built.”
Manziel was a star beyond comprehension in College Station, Texas. The quarterback threw 3706 yards in 2012 with 26 touchdowns, and ran 1410 yards with 21 touchdowns. He also famously upset No. 1 seed University of Alabama. Most astonishingly, Manziel was known to party the night before every game and was seen taking photos with many celebrities such as Lebron James and Justin Bieber.
The man is a living legend for college football and had he been playing in 2021 or years after, it’s safe to say that we would be seeing Manziel in every possible commercial, and he would be at the top of NIL lists.
Zion Williamson
When Zion Williamson, Cam Reddish and RJ Barrett were at Duke University there wasn’t a bigger show. But Williamson shined above the rest. The Blue Devils had Barack Obama, Lebron James and Jay-Z coming to games in Durham, North Carolina.
Williamson was a star in high school, where he had celebrities the caliber of Drake wearing his jersey, but when he went to Duke his superstardom went to another level.
The six-foot-seven, 285-pound power forward’s jaw dropping dunks were a mainstay on House of Highlights and Bleacher Report’s Instagram pages. During his only season at Duke, Williamson scored 22.6 points per game and added nine rebounds. Williamson was such a dominant force as a Blue Devil he actually broke his own shoe, something that would have surely started a rampant commercial cycle if he had the opportunity.
Though he went to the NBA the year after, Williamson had one of the most memorable seasons in college basketball history. He surely would have been on every cereal box if he had the opportunity to be paid.
Joe Burrow
In 2019, Louisiana State University (LSU) may have been the most fun college football team ever.
LSU showcased star receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson — who both could have been on this list — but Joe Burrow stole the spotlight for this team. The 2019 Heisman Award winner found his footing at Louisiana State University in his junior season after spending two years at Ohio State University. Then he exploded in his senior year where LSU went undefeated and won the National Championship.
During his senior year Burrow threw 5671 yards, which is the fourth most passing yards in a college football season, and 60 touchdowns, the second most in a college football season. In the National Championship, Burrow kept his dominant ways where he threw five touchdowns with 463-passing yards.
After winning the championship, Burrow’s face was seen everywhere as a video of him smoking a cigar spread rampant across social media. It’s no doubt one of the most unexpected and greatest college football seasons would have made Burrow a ton of money had he been able to be paid. In his final home game Burrow changed his name plate to spell out “Burreax” to honour the Louisiana faithful, and there is no doubt he would have received a good amount of money for selling that jersey.
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