As the Buckeyes gear up for the National Championship game against Notre Dame, wide receiver Jeremiah Smith will have a lot of attention on him. Even though he was underwhelming in the semi-final win over Texas, he had a massive role in his side’s previous two CFP games. However, on Wednesday he turned heads with a new NIL deal involving two gaming giants, having previously signed a historic deal with Red Bull.

Before the game against Texas where he had just one catch for three yards, he had a combined 290 yards on 13 receptions in the two games before that. Ryan Day’s star WR has been named a Freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America and the young chap is already coming off strong with an impressive list of postseason awards, yet he finds himself in the middle of some stinging criticism after the announcement of his new NIL deal.

On January 14, Smith shared a video on Instagram announcing a deal with Nintendo and Epic Games. In the video, Smith can be seen playing Epic Games’ popular battle royal title, Fortnite on a Nintendo Switch. He captioned the video, “Practice is done, time for some Fortnite on my Nintendo Switch, #EpicPartner #NintendoPartner.” This deal adds to Smith’s growing NIL valuation and his reputation as one of the best athletes in college football.

The 19-year-old has led Ohio State with 1,227 receiving yards, which ranks seventh nationally and most among freshmen. In addition to this, he has also racked up 14 touchdowns on 71 receptions and contributed 52 yards and a touchdown on five carries across 14 games. Notably, he is also Big Ten’s Wide Receiver of the Year Freshman of the Year, and a first-team All-American by USA Today.

Currently, Smith’s On3 NIL Valuation sits at $3.7 million, putting him atop the Ohio State roster and this move represents a major step in his college career. Boasting a massive 454k followers across X, TikTok, and Instagram, he sits at #10 in the NIL 100 Rankings and #8 in the College Football NIL Rank.

He also enjoys partnerships with Lululemon, Battle Sports, American Eagle Outfitters, Ricart Automotive, the 1870 Society, and The Foundation. Last year in September, he signed an NIL deal with Red Bull, making him the first college football athlete to ever land a deal with the company. 

Announcing the Red Bull deal, Smith posted a video on his social media channels, saying, “Off week, got my wiiings.” According to Front Office Sports the deal is for multiple years. However, his latest announcement failed to impress some fans online.

CFB on Fox reshared Smith’s Instagram video about the Nintendo, Epic Games deal on their handle with the caption, “This Jeremiah Smith NIL deal is sick.” However, some fans did not care much about the deals and the valuation, all they cared about was his expressions and his skills in front of the camera., which left them unimpressed.

Fans get brutal with Jeremiah Smith’s big NIL break 

Smith has been a big reason behind OSU’s success as they eye a national title. The young WR has contributed to QB Will Howard’s success at Ohio and is already generating NFL buzz through his first season of college football. But before he gets there, a fan has some advice for the youngster. As he wrote, “At least take some acting classes.”

In the video he posted, Smith can be heard saying, “Practice done” before following it up with something that is a little difficult to understand.  This led to a brutal comment from a fan, who wrote, “W-f did he even say at the beginning of the video? All I heard was mumbling like he can’t talk or something.”

Smith has two more seasons with the Buckeyes and his dominance suggests Ryan Day’s program could have more success before he departs for the NFL. His ability to change games and have an impact in key situations is the reason why the Buckeyes are seeking a ninth national title and a first since 2014.

Against Tennessee in their first playoff game, Smith had 103 yards on six catches and two touchdowns as OSU routed the Volunteers 42-17. Then against the No. 1 seed Oregon Ducks in the Rose Bowl, he once again demonstrated unreal domination, registering seven catches for a stunning 187 yards and two touchdowns en route to a 41-21 win.

While his prowess on the gridiron is amazing, it seems fans remain unconvinced with his off-field skills. A fan noted, “You can see he has very little on-screen personality.” Another fan expressed his dismay at NIL deals, writing, “NIL = NOT INTERESTED in LEARNING – $$$$$$$$ – SUCCESS WITH DISHONOR.”

Ryan Day will be hoping that this latest deal boosts Smith’s morale so that he can put on a show against Notre Dame on Monday. Day couldn’t care less about his acting or on-camera skills, as long as his most potent weapon delivers on the big night. Maybe, that would convince some of the naysayers.

Keeping this in mind, one fan had a warning for Smith, noting pointed out,

“Better not be dropping any balls.” Smith will know this. If he is unable to replicate his form from before the Texas game, he could be in the firing line, with his new NIL deal giving his critics a weapon to use against him.

But beware—this finale could be the WR’s ultimate statement to end the noise.