Bohls: Meet Sam Hurley, part-time heartthrob, marketing genius and Texas' $1 million man
Sam Hurley was inarguably the most famous track and field athlete competing at Myers Stadium on a sultry Friday night.
Maybe not the best just yet, but he was certainly the most famous 14th-place finisher in his event.
That’s because he’s been a big-time winner since long before he stepped on the track.
Was he the most accomplished track and field star at these NCAA outdoor championships hosted by Texas?
Hurley? Not hardly.
Not when he tied for 14th in the high jump after clearing 6 feet, 11 inches but dislodging the bar on three straight tries at 7-1. Give him time. He'll get there. But he’s clearly the richest one to compete. And one of the most humble as well. He's certainly got the look and skill — and bank account — of a champion.
Sam Hurley leads the race for college track NIL deals
Thanks to about 20 deals promoting his name, image and very attractive likeness, Hurley has earned almost $1 million to rank as the most marketable college track athlete in the nation, and he’s just finishing his sophomore year. And he didn’t even medal in his first stab at this national event. Didn't matter for this part-time heartthrob, part-time high roller.
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“It was amazing,” Hurley said of his first NCAA championships experience. “It was a blessing to be one of 24 high jumpers in the country to compete. Now I’ve got the first one under the rug. I didn’t do what I know I can do, but I can only do better.”
And don’t bet against him. Hurley's very driven and confident enough that he left his home state to compete for Arkansas’ main rival. He won the Arkansas decathlon championship and also won individual state titles there in the high jump, long jump and pole vault and very nearly the 110-meter hurdles.
“That’s my home,” he said. “I think they still like me there.”
He wants it known that as “grateful” as he is for all the fame that has come his way, he doesn’t want this NIL side gig to define him. Anything but, even though he’s developed a huge social media presence in a college sport that doesn’t exactly embrace such.
“I’m an athlete first,” Hurley said. “I’m a high jumper. I’m a track athlete. I’m a brother and a son. I do this (NIL) on the side.”
Juggling track and NIL ventures: a full-time job
He’s also perhaps one of the most photogenic people around.
Just ask any of the female fans at the stadium on the last day of the men’s competition — and there were plenty of those. Hurley, you see, could well be considered the face of college track. A very handsome face.
“In some ways, I guess you might say that through NIL,” he said. “And I’m here (at the NCAAs). But I’m still having to prove myself. I want to prove myself and help our team win a national championship.”
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Hurley knows how to prioritize. He put off any NIL business for the last three weeks to prepare for this event. And though he sprained his left ankle on his first attempt at the 7-1 mark, he’s hungry to get better in a hurry.
As a decathlete for his Arkansas high school, he won several competitions and led his team to three straight 6A state championships before forsaking the Razorbacks. He picked Texas in part because of its global brand but also the facilities, coaches and teammates.
He considers the high jump, pole vault and 110-meter hurdles his best events. He cleared 7 feet at both the Texas Relays and the USF Bulls Invitational this spring. But he’ll be open to any event coach Edrick Floréal has in store for him.
What's next on Sam Hurley's goal board to conquer?
So is the Paris Olympic Games next summer way too big a dream?
“I don’t think so,” he said matter-of-factly. “It’s on my goal board. But the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 is my main goal.”
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And if his achievements don’t match his aspirations, he more than has something to fall back on. And he’s applied to the school’s film department.
Movies in his future?
“It could be,” said Hurley, who puts no limitations on himself.
To be honest, he’s selling sex appeal every bit as much as his personality when he hawks for NIL partners such as Amazon and Jimmy Dean and Vuori sports apparel. Not many athletes model for Ralph Lauren as he did. A Time magazine article that featured him in April made reference to his “charisma, chiseled abs and athletic prowess.” Not the worst attributes one could lay claim to.
It also made mention of the long, wavy brown hair that perfectly frames Hurley's well-defined features. He clearly takes pride in his hair. Up to a point.
“I need a haircut,” he said. “But hey, I like my hair. It’s part of my persona, my image.”
Yeah, you might say the camera likes him. But he has enough awareness to compartmentalize his track status from his side gig, which to be fair sounds more and more like his main job.
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He didn’t get into social media to become an influencer. He thought it was fun to post his first YouTube video as he leaped off a trampoline. From that point on, he was off and, well, jumping in a field that Influencer Marketing Hub predicts will grow to more than $21 billion this year. Sports influencers, in particular, are three times more popular now than a year ago, IMH reports.
Making the highest jump in track and field deals
While it might sometimes be curious to figure out just what many influencers are influencing exactly, their bank accounts are certainly being positively influenced.
Hurley has become so sought-after that one could say he’s the Quinn Ewers of Texas athletics. Actually he is in the same financial neighborhood as the Longhorns' starting quarterback when you consider that on3.com ranks Hurley’s NIL valuation at $1.1 million, just a hair off Ewers’ $1.2 million.
Curiously enough, they’re both behind another Texas quarterback, Arch Manning, whose NIL worth is estimated at $2.3 million even though the five-star recruit has said he’s not taking any such money until after he plays.
“Arch is a good friend of mine,” Hurley said. “I’m really good with Xavier Worthy, and I’ve met Quinn.”
Ewers leads them with a No. 19 national ranking in NIL worth, edging No. 22 Worthy and No. 24 Hurley.
Like those three, Hurley gets recognized constantly on campus and signs autographs (for free) and takes a whole lot of selfies with new friends. No professors yet.
He reeled in a million TikTok followers in less than six months. And he’s caught fire ever since, attracting 5 million followers on that platform as well as Instagram and Twitter. Some 3.6 million of those come from TikTok, which UT ironically has banned from all its campus Internet servers.
That 5 million number ranks as the third-highest among the top 100 college-age athletes, according to on3.com, trailing only California high school basketball player Bronny James (12.9 million) and LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne (11.4 million).
That’s pretty profound considering Hurley’s the only track athlete ranked in the top 100 NIL earners, a list awash with quarterbacks, including six of the top nine income-makers.
Hurley, of course, doesn’t exactly shy away from attention.
He doesn’t exactly mind getting photographed shirtless, showing off a ripped body that boasts a tattoo in script on the back of his neck that says “Designed by God.” God did his part so well for this incredibly mature 19-year-old that Hurley insists he keeps his hair au naturel.
“I wake up and just rinse it off,” he said. “No product, no spray.”
No need.
He makes no apologies for being the next Harry Styles, but did once spawn a near-riot at Times Square when he tweeted out an open invitation to any female admirers.
But it seems most at Texas don’t begrudge him any of his runaway success.
That would include Chris Del Conte, the Longhorns athletic director, who was a high jumper himself at UC-Santa Barbara.
“I was a low jumper at my peak,” Del Conte said, “and I was never as pretty as he is. But as popular as he is, he’s a really humble guy. You know he’s Bijan's (Robinson) best friend.”
That’s hardly surprising since both are modest to a fault.
That said, Hurley doesn’t drive a free Lamborghini around campus as the Longhorns running back did. Not yet, anyway.
“Maybe it’s in the works,” Hurley said, winking.
Until then, he’s content to tool around Austin in his Dodge Charger. To be truthful, he’s not really shopping for any new NIL ventures yet, although he did admit he’s a big fan of Western wear.
“I like Lucchese,” he said.
You wear boots?
“Hey, it’s Texas, baby,” Hurley said, breaking into a wide smile. Cue the cameras.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas high jumper, social media influencer Sam Hurley finishes 14th
