It has only been three years since the NCAA approved NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) deals and endorsements for college athletes, and LSU is feeling the brunt of the negative effects this week of how it is altering college football. On Thursday, LSU lost its No. 1 recruit Bryce Underwood as the five-star high school quarterback flipped his commitment from LSU to Michigan. The verbal announcement followed a report by On3 that Michigan offered him a four-year, $10.5 million NIL deal, on Nov. 14. Underwood previously committed to LSU on Jan. 6. On3 is a sports data, analysis, and news site company that reports a weekly proprietary “NIL Top 100” list. The list ranks high school and college athletes based on their estimated NIL value and worth, calculated by performance, social media influence, and exposure within the NIL market. Underwood currently ranks eighth on the NIL Top 100 with an estimated NIL value of $2.2 million. Yes, more than $2 million for a high school athlete. But Underwood is not the only one; there are nine high school athletes on the NIL Top 100 list. There are also 70 athletes total who are valued at more than $1 million as corporate sponsorships, marketing deals, and endorsements are changing the college sports landscape. Louisiana has five athletes in the NIL Top 100, including one athlete who has spent most of the last two years in the top five. LSU gymnastics senior Livvy Dunne, known as the most followed NCAA athlete on social media with more than 13 million followers, has an On3 NIL valuation estimated at $4 million. That figure lands her at second overall, trailing only University of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders at $6.2 million. Recently, Dunne signed an NIL deal with Jake Paul’s company W, a men’s care body wash, spray, and antiperspirant deodorant. She also has deals with Vuori Clothing, American Eagle, Plant Fuel, Bartleby, and she is dating Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher and recently named Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes, an LSU national champion. Former Isidore Newman School quarterback Arch Manning, current quarterback at the University of Texas, ranks fourth in the NIL Top 100 with an estimated worth of $3.1 million. In 2023, Manning inked his first NIL deal by signing a multiyear agreement with the national sports trading card company Panini American. He also approved EA Sports to include him in the video game, College Football ’25. Former Newman basketball star Chris Cenac, who transferred to Link Academy, ranks No. 50 at $1.2 million. Cenac is reportedly deciding between LSU and the University of Houston for college. LSU women’s basketball player and part-time rap music star Flau’jae Johnson ranks No. 27 with an estimated NIL worth of $1.5 million, while LSU college football quarterback Garrett Nussmeier ranks No. 43 at $1.3 million. Johnson has a record deal with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, and she has NIL deals with Amazon, LeBron’s Uninterrupted, Papa John’s, Puma, and Taco Bell. Nussmeier is included in NCAA College Football ’25 and has NIL deals with Powerade and Signature Ride.