Ohio State Buckeyes Superstar Receiver Expected To Earn Jaw-Dropping NIL Offer

The Ohio State Buckeyes will have to be ready to spend in order to keep their superstar freshman wide receiver.

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) makes a catch against Notre Dame Fighting Irish cornerback Christian Gray (29) in the fourth quarter during the College Football Playoff National Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on January 20, 2025. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Ohio State Buckeyes claimed their first national championship in a decade on Monday night with a dramatic 34-23 victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Things were aided late by a massive 3rd down long bomb to freshman sensation wide receiver Jeremiah Smith which put the Buckeyes into field goal range and prevented the Irish from getting the ball back trailing by one possession after a furious second half comeback.

Smith, who was not only the No. 1 ranked wide receiver in the high school class of 2024 but the top overall player in the nation, finished the night with five catches for 88 yards including the decisive play late as well as a first quarter touchdown. Taking the country by storm this season, Smith finishes his spectacular freshman season with 76 receptions for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns, a marvelous campaign capped off with a national title.

In this new day and age of college football, athletes now more than ever have a chance to capitalize financially on difference making performances, and Smith is going to be no different. Already one of the highest valued players in the sport in terms of Name, Image and Likeness, Smith is expected to receive significantly more in order to stay at Ohio State.

According to a story from Brad Crawford of 247 Sports, the number the Buckeyes will have to pay in order to keep Smith on their roster is going to be well above $3 million, a figure which would make Smith the highest-paid non quarterback in college football.

It's an eye-opening reality to the way things are done in the NIL era when when a star wide receiver has the leverage to command millions of dollars from his school in order to avoid entering the transfer portal. There are no indications saying Smith has any desire to enter the transfer portal, but Ohio State knows all too well the kind of cash he would draw on the open market.

The Buckeyes are frequently accused of course of 'buying' their roster, something that's not exactly inaccurate looking at key portal additions like Will Howard, Quinshon Judkins, and Caleb Downs, but it goes much deeper than that.

Head coach Ryan Day and Ohio State have adapted a strategy of incentivizing their own home grown and recruited players to stay, re-investing within their own roster and largely holding it together over the last several years.

In a time in college football where players are leaving left and right, the Buckeyes have built and retained a championship team by taking care of their own and incentivizing players to stay, and it payed off in a huge way on Monday night.

Now, it's going to be Smith's turn to cash in, and chances are Ohio State is going to give him a few million reasons to continue catching touchdowns in Columbus.