In college sports’ NIL era, it’s not just big names who can cash in

The college football season is upon us, and that means money is flying.

But these are amateur “student-athletes.” It’s not about the money!

OK, stop yelling.

But the NIL business — name, image and likeness — has taken off for players, backed by antitrust court decisions, so if you’re not making at least, say, $100K a year, particularly as a star D-I quarterback or running back, you’re missing the gravy train.

And NILs are only the start. The courts say football programs are going to have to share actual department revenue with players soon. Power schools are projected to have to pay out $22 million to players as early as 2025.

New championship battle cry: “Get rich or die tryin’!”

When it comes to money, we always start with Colorado coach “Neon” Deion Sanders, who basically is defined by cash and how to shake it out of places others might fear to tread. Yes, there’s his routine Aflac signage and sponsored headsets. But recently, one of his assistants actually went to Saudi Arabia looking for NIL oil money.

Why not? LIV Golf gets Saudi money. So do many of our finest universities.

Neon’s son, Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, has an NIL valuation of $4.7 million, according to the ON3.com player database. LSU quarterback Bryce Underwood is up there at $1.3  million. And Arch Manning at Texas, scion of the Manning quarterback breeding factory, is worth $3.1 million.

This is all about advertising, promotion, recognition and, yes, potential. After all, 19-year-old sophomore Manning has completed all of two passes for the Longhorns in his brief career.

So let’s check out the photo above of those four football players at Iowa State: “Purchase. Moore. Hamman. Bacon.” Lining these guys up was genius marketing by the Iowa Pork Producers Association. Well done, pig farmers.

This is how a player or players can, and should, get creative when it comes to earnings. Not sure what those Iowa State guys got for their efforts — maybe just a lot of meat — but you know lining up properly was worth pork sales.

Players only have four years in college, and if they do it right and are lucky, they can have a nice nest egg the day they leave campus. If you’re not NFL-caliber and college is your end goal, you should make hay while the NIL light shines.

Having played college ball myself eons ago, I was decades before monetization. Taking 50 bucks back then was taboo, enough to get you marched off in disgrace. But if I were playing now, I’d be all over endorsements, promos, you name it.

Vienna Beef comes quickly to mind. As faithful readers know, I love hot dogs. A billboard of me in my Wildcats uniform, grinning madly, half a dozen hot dogs balanced on my forearm, another two or three in my belly — a no-brainer. Alas, never to be.

I checked college rosters to ponder other name possibilities like the Iowa pork one. Not all schools put players’ names on the backs of their jerseys, but they definitely should.

At Illinois, I came up with Joe Barna and Matthew Bailey. ‘‘Barna and Bailey.’’ Is the circus still around?

Also, I saw Nick True and Ca’Lil Valentine. Maybe “True Valentine” would work for the Hallmark Channel or the Whitman’s Sampler.

At Northwestern, I got Braxton Strong and Cole Shivers. “Strong Shivers” — perfect ad for the next “Halloween” installment. And there was Najee Story and Jack Florentine, which makes “Florentine Story,” which could be used to promote any film about Michelangelo, da Vinci or Guccio Gucci.

When I checked Iowa, I found big tight end Hayden Large and running backs coach Ladell Betts. “Large Betts” for FanDuel or DraftKings? Yes, coaches should wear name tags, too. I also found an Iowa linebacker named Kelby Telander. My last name on his back. Cool.

I looked at Rutgers and discovered Shaquan Loyal and Terrence Salami. Come on, Tyson Foods, lure buyers with a “Loyal Salami” campaign.

Now, it’s possible the best Iowa pork-style genius combo comes from Michigan, where I found two classics. Noah Howes, Brandon Mann, Grayson Dee and Cole Cabana form “Howes Dee Cabana, Mann?” Perfect for, like, a Sandals-type resort in Jamaica. And then this beaut lineup: Dee, TJ Guy, Shomari Stone and Chibi Anwunah. “Anwunah Stone Dee Guy.” Maybe for a marijuana company?

Lastly, Ohio State, which never lies down peacefully to Michigan: We’ve got Jason Moore, James Peoples, Julian Sayin and Kayden McDonald. ‘‘Sayin Moore McDonald Peoples.”

Big Mac folks, you listening?