There are few Tar Heels I'll have a greater appreciation for than RJ Davis, who recently completed his fifth and final year in Carolina Blue.
Davis, a shooting guard from White Plains, New York, exemplifies what it means to put a UNC jersey on. Davis helped lead North Carolina to the 2022 National Championship game as just a sophomore, stayed in Chapel Hill after a turbulent 2023-2024 campaign, then earned ACC Player of the Year Honors in the 2024-2025 season – along with leading the Tar Heels to a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
What you might not know about RJ, though, is he's also faring quite well in the NIL department.
According to ESPN's Michelle Steele, RJ leads all collegiate athletes – in the past year – with 25 NIL deals. This is four more than the second-place earner, Arizona punter TJ Cash Peterman, and USC women's basketball star JuJu Watkins (20).
It’s a $1 billion+ NIL world, and *basketball* is king.
— Michele Steele (@MicheleSteele) April 2, 2025
UNC’s RJ Davis and USC’s JuJu Watkins led all athletes in endorsement deals over the last 12 months, according to the latest data from @sponsorunited. https://t.co/5ABYu4ebSz
If you go take a look at RJ's Instagram page, his two most recent NIL deals appear to be with Hulu and Call of Duty. Smart move by RJ, because who doesn't like watching TV and/or playing video games?
With UNC's season recently ending against Ole Miss in the NCAA Tournament's Round of 64, you might be wondering what RJ's next steps in his basketball career are. There are no updates as of April 3, but I'm willing to bet RJ makes an NBA Summer League team – at a minimum.
We might be a little biased, but RJ is
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