No. 1 transfer portal WR secures Top 5 NIL college football ranking

They say everything is bigger in Texas, and that is certainly true for the updated NIL valuation awarded to the top-ranked wide receiver in the 2026 college football transfer portal cycle and a new major offensive weapon for the Longhorns.
Cam Coleman already had one of the highest NIL valuations in college football after emerging as a five-star prospect for Auburn, and his move to Texas only further inflated his perceived market value, according to an expert ranking.
A highly-ranked NIL player in 2026
Coleman is currently listed as the No. 3 overall player among those who entered the transfer portal with a reported value of $2.9 million, according to On3 Sports.
That figure also places Coleman among the ten best in the country overall, ranking No. 7 in the national NIL valuation rankings among all NCAA football players.
He’s not the only Longhorn on that list entering the 2026 season, as his new quarterback once again claims the top spot on this prestigious list.
Texas leads the NIL charts
Arch Manning remains the most-valuable player in the national NIL rankings coming into 2026, worth an estimated $5.4 million, still the only player that eclipsed the $5 million number.
Since the new Texas wide receiver announced his transfer inside the SEC, his NIL value rose from what was a figure of $1.8 million to about $2.5 million a day later, before Coleman moved up further still to nearly hit the $3 million mark.
Immediately after entering the transfer portal, Coleman emerged as the No. 1 overall ranked wide receiver among those switching schools.
Where the Longhorns are now
He joins an offense not only led by Manning, who saw notable improvement in the second half of his 2025 season, but also still features top receiver Ryan Wingo, who led the Longhorns with 834 receiving yards and seven touchdowns as a sophomore.
Coleman can be a star
Coleman was to be the featured target in an Auburn offense that was advertised back in the preseason as one of the SEC’s best at throwing the ball.
While that overall production didn’t transpire for the team, Coleman still led the roster with 708 receiving yards and five touchdowns off 56 grabs.
He had 37 receptions for 598 yards and eight touchdowns as a true freshman in the 2024 season after signing with Auburn as the No. 1 overall wide receiver and a consensus five-star prospect, according to an average of the national recruiting services.
Texas was in the market for a go-to receiver for Manning after losing both DeAndre Moore, Jr. and Parker Livingstone to the transfer portal.
Now the Longhorns have not only one of the more promising offensive weapons in college football, but also one of the most valuable.
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James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He has covered football for a decade, previously managing several team sites and publishing national content for 247Sports.com for five years. His work has also been published on CBSSports.com. He founded College Football HQ in 2020, and the site joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022 and the On SI network in 2024.