Hendon Hooker a millionaire? Tennessee NIL company reveals details for Vols’ QB deal

Hendon Hooker took over the Tennessee Volunteers’ starting QB job early in the 2021 season and never looked back, putting up big numbers in Josh Heupel’s offense.

Now, he enters 2022 with the job seemingly locked down. And, he’ll also enter this season with a much thicker wallet, it seems.

Per Spyre CEO James Clawson, who runs the third-party group that helps distribute NIL money, the plan is to get Hooker’s NIL deals into the millions (via AtoZSports.com):

“We feel like the quarterback at Tennessee can make as much money as anywhere in the country,” said Clawson. “If you go out and replicate the season Hendon Hooker just had, there’s no reason why at the end of the day in deals we do and other companies do or national brands, the quarterback at Tennessee shouldn’t make seven figures a year.”

This is certainly a new era in college football, so it’ll be interesting to see how other schools react to this news.

One thing is for sure, though — Hooker is making plenty of money while he waits for his chance to head to the NFL. These big NIL deals could ensure that players who aren’t ready for the NFL Draft don’t make the jump too soon and hurt their careers.

Adam Spencer

Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.