How we estimate
Last updated: October 14, 2026
Benchmark rates are a starting point for a conversation, built only from public follower counts we have actually read. They are not quotes, offers or a valuation of a person. The final compensation is decided by the athlete, or agreed between the client and the athlete.
What you see
For each athlete we show a range, a typical figure and a confidence label for: a single post, a story or short video, a campaign (3 posts, 3 stories and 3 months of usage rights), and an orientation figure for a year (several campaigns).
How the number is built
- Audience. We add up followers across the platforms where we hold a count, weighted by where advertisers spend: Instagram 1.0, YouTube 0.9, TikTok 0.7, X 0.4.
- Price curve. A single post is priced on a curve: 25 × (weighted followers / 1,000) to the power 0.8, in dollars. Bigger audiences cost more in total but less per follower.
- Small adjustments. Plus or minus up to 30% in total, from things we measure ourselves: the athlete's rank among peers in the same sport and real growth over at least 10 days.
- Range. The range runs from 0.6 to 1.8 times the typical figure, because real deals vary widely.
- Deliverables. A story is priced at half a post. A campaign is six posts' worth. The annual figure multiplies a campaign by a typical number of paid activations for that audience size (2 to 10 a year).
What we compared it with
The curve was set so that it passes close to published points: On3's per-post values (about $700 at 78,000 combined followers and about $15,000 at 4.6 million), listed college post rates on OpenSponsorship (about $450 to $2,200 at an average audience near 25,000, which are asking prices), and the College Sports Commission's average cleared NIL Go deal (about $10,000). It is a deliberately broad benchmark, not a precise price list.
What it is not
- Not On3's NIL Valuation. On3 estimates an annual market value that can include collective and roster money. Our annual figure is a conservative orientation built from brand-deal rates, so for top stars it will be much lower than On3's.
- Brand deals only. The rates do not include collective payments or school revenue share. Collectives are donor-funded groups that pay athletes of one school, often like a salary, and since 2025 schools can also share revenue with athletes directly. That money is separate from brand sponsorships and can be much larger for top athletes.
- Not a guarantee or a quote. Brand fit, exclusivity, usage rights and negotiation all move the price.
- Not engagement-aware. The public data we use does not include engagement rates, so a quiet audience and a very active one with the same follower count get the same estimate.
Very small audiences
Below about 2,500 weighted followers we do not publish rates. At that size, paid deals are usually product, experiences or a small flat fee under about $100, and a precise-looking number would be false precision. We recommend ongoing monitoring: add the athlete to your watchlist, and rates appear automatically once the public audience grows.
When the confidence is low
If a school lists an athlete's Instagram or TikTok but we hold no follower count for it, real reach is probably larger than what we counted, and the report says so and labels the confidence low. For audiences above 250,000 we also say the figures are a floor, because brand fit and exposure then matter more than follower counts.
Questions or a figure that looks wrong? Write to [email protected].