AJ Ferrari is building himself back up, and how! After making a solid comeback from a terrible car accident that kept him in recovery for two years, he now holds the No. 2 spot in the 197-pound NAA rankings! But that is not all, Ferrari is also making the most of the NIL world, reaping in benefits from different brand deals, and creating a name for himself on social media.  

At a recent press conference, AJ Ferrari, who happened to sit beside soon-to-be legend Carter Starocci, shared his thoughts on the NIL when asked, and he didn’t hold back on his praise for the program and its potential for the future of NCAA wrestling. “I think NIL is great for the sport,” Ferrari said, adding, “I am really, really excited for the future of wrestling.” Ferrari emphasized the fact that the NIL has brought a lot more eyes to wrestling, because players bring their own personal followings to the sport.

He commented on the sport needing “big personalities like myself, big matches that draw eyes.” It certainly seems that Ferrari is not going to let the past bring him down, and move forward with the future on his side. 

But AJ Ferrari’s views are not totally unbiased. He currently ranks among the top NIL athletes and has just signed a new sponsorship deal with Hydragun supertubs, a cold water immersion setup. And this is just one amongst many other deals he has going on at the moment. 

To be honest, NIL has flipped college wrestling on its head, turning student-athletes into brand ambassadors overnight. With deep-pocketed programs wooing top talent, the gap has widened, and tradition is grappling with commerce. While some wrestlers cash in, old school fans fear the sport’s purity is getting pinned under the weight of dollar signs. Either way, the world is running on cash.

So just how much is Ferrari benefitting from the NIL, what else is he endorsing?

Apart from the Hydragun cold water immersion super tub that would make any Whim Hoff practitioner happy-dance, AJ Ferrari has also really, really branched out. He works with Varsity Barbershop, a small scale business in Bakersfield, California, and has made multiple ads for them, where he showcases his grooming routine and the origins of that 70’s Stache. 

Apart from Varsity and Hydragun, Ferrari also works frequently with Nutrazone, a nutritional supplement company that prides itself on working with quality and untainted ingredients. Ferrari also knows both the co-owners and shares in their values, calling them, “old-school, hard-working, honest and respectful men.” 

So, yes, AJ Ferrari is making the most of his NIL deals, but he also seems to be aligning himself with brands that he believes in and companies that he believes need support, so whether or not he’s bagging hundreds, it certainly seems like his heart is in the right place, or at least, his social media manager is.