$1.4 Million Ashton Jeanty Rues The Negative Impact of NIL While Travis Hunter Demands Colleges For More Pay

Ashton Jeanty is the guy you keep seeing in the headlines. Whether it’s about his top-notch performance this season, or his Heisman competition with Travis Hunter, he has been in the news for all the right reasons. In fact, he was also at the top of October’s top-earning NIL athletes. The Boise State running back has left big names like Dylan Raiola and Diego Pavia behind on the latest NIL reports. But is that something Jeanty is proud of?

On the November 15 episode of the Kickin’ It With Dee show, Jeanty talked about his Heisman case vs. Travis Hunter and also shared his wisdom about the current NIL scenario. His words reflect his understanding of his career and how sorted and focused he is.

“At the end of the day, I just like thinking about my values, like my core values; that’s not what it’s about me. It was just more about what I could do here rather than someone else back because, like, I think NIL is great, but I think it’s distracting a lot of players from, like, what’s really important that’s making it to the next level,” Jeanty shared.

“Because when you get to the NFL, like, that’s that real generational money, like, the $100,000 or the $50,000. Like, it’s great right now because you’re in college and you don’t have any bills to pay, so it just feels like you’re drowning in money. But really, it’s just, it’s not worth it for what I was, what I’m doing right now, what I thought I was going to be able to do.”

Well, this is coming from the starting running back of the No. 12 ranked Boise State, whose NIL has become the talk of the town for days now. After hitting the chords in the season, Jeanty’s NIL valuation has reached $1.4 million. The four-star prospect of the 2022 class has signed drooling deals with brands such as Hal ZDavia Jewelers, Boise Hawks, and Campus Ink NIL Store.

On the other hand, Jeanty chose Boise State over NIL money. After all, several schools have been after him ever since he was the Heisman Trophy candidate and threw seven-figure NIL deals his way. But the athlete ignored them just like they ignored him a couple of years ago. “I told those (schools), ‘You guys overlooked me three years ago. Now you want me?’ It just made me realize I made the right decision all along by coming here,” he stated in October.

It is clear Ashton Jeanty values the grind that brought him to Boise State.

via Imago

While we hear Jeanty’s inspirational words on NIL and the values that an athlete should place on earning in college, his Heisman opponent, Travis Hunter, is also in the headlines, albeit with a different take on the issue of money in college. Answering a question about a potential $116 million that would be up for grabs for conferences with the new 12-team playoffs, Travis Hunter highlighted how the athletes who get their programs to playoff spots won’t get to see any of the money. Jokingly, he said that the athletes should at least get around $100,000 of this big amount.

While the distribution of money is a real issue, Hunter stays focused on the goal. “We don’t care about the money right now. We are trying to win something. We got a bigger go than the money right now.” It has been a sensational ride seeing these two Heisman contenders try to better each week. Just a few weeks ago, we had Jeanty at the top. However, Hunter has managed to turn it around.

What are Ashton Jeanty’s odds of beating Travis Hunter for the Heisman Trophy?

Currently, the two popular dudes of the college football world, Travis Hunter and Ashton Jeanty, are running for the Heisman Race. But who would be the ultimate winner? If Hunter wins, it’s not going to be a big deal, as the two-way star has already shaken the college football world with his known abilities.

However, it would surely be a big punch to the gut is Ashton Jeanty grabs the win. Now, during the same episode on Dee’s show, Jeanty quickly took a jab at Hunter, saying, “I feel like for me, what I’ve been doing hasn’t been done in 36-37 years, so that’s something special. If I break a record, that’s been around for 36 years, then I feel like you can’t compete with that.”

Well, Jeanty is chasing Barry Sanders’s single-season NCAA rushing record of 2,628 yards, which he accomplished during his 1988 run to the Heisman Trophy. In fact, it is also plausible for him to break Sanders’s NCAA single-season rushing touchdown record (37).

Jeanty’s message to Hunter is clear. He doesn’t just talk the talk; he walks the walk. In merely 10 games, Jeanty has touched an 1800-yard mark and scored 26 touchdowns on 256 carries. Looking at the pace he is going, Jeanty can easily beat Hunter in winning the Heisman as well.

Currently, Jeanty holds +350 odds compared to Hunter’s +100. But as they say, this sport is unpredictable; anything can happen at the end of the day! Who do you think will win the Heisman Trophy? Let us know in the comments below.