Three Baylor Football Players About to Earn Themselves a Bigger NIL Deal
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Fall camp is in full swing as the college football season approaches. As most of the NIL acquisitions have settled, it's time to make predictions on who will earn themselves a bigger check in the next contract cycle.
Jacob Redding (safety)
Perhaps the best player on the disappointing Baylor defense last season, Redding led the team with a 75.2 overall grade along with the best run defense grade, which landed at 81.4 per PFF.
The former walk-on had the biggest breakout of anyone on the roster, and earned himself around $450,000 for the 2026 season per the NIL standard.
Redding is arguably underpaid considering his performance last season, and if he can take another step in the right direction, teams across the country will be willing to throw some serious cash at him.
Travion Barnes (linebacker)
Barnes was already pegged as a breakout linebacker going into the 2025 season before getting injured in the fourth game of the season. This left him little opportunity to earn a big paycheck heading into this season.
The hype around Barnes has been real for a while. Unfortunately, it is just a matter of whether or not he can stay on the field for an entire season. The pressure on him is less about performance and more about his durability.
If the starting middle linebacker can put together a full season, he will certainly earn more than the ≈ 337k he is making right now in the next cycle.
Louis Brown IV (wide receiver)
Brown redshirted last season so that he could save eligibility for this season, and he is reportedly connecting well with quarterback DJ Lagway in practice.
Brown is unproven but supposedly has the talent to lead the Baylor wide receiver room. He is probably underpriced right now considering he will be getting a lot of snaps over the course of the season.
If Brown can be a consistent target for Lagway and snag 8-10 touchdowns, he will certainly earn himself a handsome check come the 2027 season.
The bigger picture
We expect these three players to take a step in the right direction in the 2026 season, taking the Bears from being a middling Big 12 team back to competing for a top-tier bowl game.
If these players (and others) can help bring Baylor football from a 5-7 season to prominence, they will likely be inking a nice check come next season.
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Bennett is an undergrad student at Baylor University, studying journalism on the sports track. He is from the DFW area and grew up playing and watching sports, which inspired him to pursue sports writing.
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