Before getting drafted into the NFL, C.J. Stroud played for Ohio State University as one of the country’s best quarterbacks. During his time as a Buckeye, Stroud raked in multiple name-image-likeness (NIL) deals. “It’s definitely changed my life for the future, and I think it’s a jump-start to being a businessman before you get to the NFL,” he told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram in September 2022. Being able to earn money off NIL deals in college was a fairly new rule which made Stroud grateful. “I feel bad for the older players that didn’t have the opportunity to get money from this … They should have made a killing,” Stroud added.
While at OSU, one of the more eye-catching NIL deals Stroud signed was with a car dealership in Canton. In exchange for promoting their dealership, Sarchione Auto Gallery leased the NCAA athlete with a Bentley Bentayga worth $150,000 in July 2022, per the Columbus Dispatch.
Earlier in the year, Stroud inked a deal to become a style ambassador for the clothing company Express in April 2022. Just before the season started in September of that year, the quarterback gifted his teammates $500 gift cards to buy new suits at the clothing store. “Make sure you’re looking fly. Make sure we all look like a team,” Stroud said in a video posted by the Buckeyes’ X, formerly Twitter, account. The endorsement deals were great, but it was not all smooth sailing at OSU for Stroud.
