Top 5 most influential college athletes
3. Shaqir O’Neal, Texas Southern basketball聽
Shaqir O’Neal, son of NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, is a redshirt sophomore forward at Texas Southern University. Shaqir has an estimated $1.1 million NIL valuation, ranking him at No. 15 on market valuation list. He is the most followed male athlete in college sports with 4.6 million followers across and and has been inspiring his fans to express themselves 鈥� especially through his NIL deal with boohooMAN where he recently launched a line of sports-influenced casual wear.聽
Shaqir鈥檚 influence may come with the help of his dad鈥檚 clout, but the 19-year-old has been vocal about the impact he wants to make 鈥� outside of following his dad鈥檚 footsteps into the NBA. Aside from pushing hoopers to express themselves, he鈥檚 also paving the way for HBCU athletes. Shaqir famously chose to play for a historically black institution because he is trying to change the narrative surrounding bigger-name athletes and the fact that HBCUs are often out of the conversation.