LSU’s Ja’Marr Chase stands to benefit most in SEC with NIL earning power

LSU football star receiver Ja’Marr Chase has the most NIl earning power.

Ja’Marr Chase was the best wide receiver in college football last year, and he returns in 2020.

Chase was a unanimous First-Team All-American for the LSU Tigers in 2019. He won a national championship with the Bayou Bengals in his true sophomore year. Chase earned a spot on the All-SEC First Team, as well as taking home the Biletnikoff Award for the best receiver in the country back to Baton Rouge. In short, he’s a well-known commodity entering his junior season at LSU.

Because Chase won’t be draft-eligible until 2021, he returns to LSU for presumably one last season. Though Joe Burrow won’t be slinging him the pigskin anymore, Chase can be a big reason Myles Brennan’s first year as the LSU starting quarterback won’t be so tumultuous. Brennan faces a ton of pressure this fall. Here is what Chase’s NIL valuation would be, according to Opendorse.

Ja’Marr Chase would have the best NIL valuation of any player in the SEC.

Chase headlines Opendorse’s  All-SEC Offense at $508,000. His Instagram post value comes in at $5,931, while his Twitter post value comes in at $587. The only other player in the SEC with above $200,000 in NIL earning potential for 2020 is Alabama Crimson Tide running back Najee Harris at $233,000. Florida Gators’ Kyle Trask is the highest valued quarterback at $119,000.

A big part of a player’s NIL valuation is his social media presence. It’s a big boost for a great player like Chase, while it hurts Alabama offensive lineman Alex Leatherwood, whose lack of social media makes it hard for Opendorse to give him an honest evaluation. What is interesting is four wide receivers crack the top-six on this list, as it tends to be a more marketable position than expected.

Joining Chase, Harris and Trask in the top six are Alabama wide receiver Jaylen Waddle at $157,000, his Alabama teammate in DeVonta Smith at $152,000 and Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver George Pickens at a cool $83,000. Interestingly enough, Pickens will be the only one of these six players who are not draft-eligible, as he’s only a true sophomore for the Dawgs in 2020.

While these valuations will surely change, Chase is the most marketable star in the SEC now.

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