Golf NIL Movement: Kai Trump's $2M Golf NIL Valuation, Ben James hits $600K
- Golf NIL
- Oct 2
- 3 min read
Updated: Nov 16
Two-time Junior Ryder Cupper Lev Grinberg vaults to No. 16 in Golf NIL High School Boys; Megan Streicher leads Golf NIL College Women's Watchlist backed by LPGA Q-Series win
by Shon Crewe
October 3, 2025
Money Moves
Kai Trump, the top-ranked player on the Golf NIL High School Girls boards, secured a major upgrade from her previous $1.5 million Golf NIL Valuation thanks largely to the launch of her own brand.
Setting politics aside and media garnered by Swifties and Tanner Krolle fans, the Benjamin senior has gained a lot of attention for what’s possible in athlete-driven NIL. In a single product rollout, she greenlit her role as a founder, creating one of the first and most promising NIL deal opportunities by a student-athlete-led venture.
Simple takeaways: Direct-to-consumer sales, minimal SKUs, and no-cost marketing to nearly eight million followers make this a low-overhead play (the White House backdrop wasn't needed, despite the attention it brought). Combined with a higher price point for the category, room to grow, and a fan base beyond golf—and you see the potential. Half a million new followers since launch prove the concept is working.
With this move, Trump is also signaling to brands what’s possible when partnering with her, building a strong case for future collaborations. Her current NIL roster includes TaylorMade, Leaf Trading Cards, Greyson Clothiers, EasyPost, along with Accelerator, a brand she has equity ownership in.
This week, Virginia senior Ben James locked in a $600,000 Golf NIL Valuation while reinforcing his spot at No. 4 in the Golf NIL College Men’s Rankings.
James was just named September's ACC Golfer of the Month. It’s another accolade in a stacked year for the World No. 2 and two-time Ben Hogan Award semifinalist, who capped off the summer competing for the winning U.S. Walker Cup team at Cypress Point.
With nine PGA Tour starts under his belt, the 22-year-old is eyeing a shot at the 2025 Hero Dubai Desert Classic. It was announced Thursday that, once again, the top player in the PGA TOUR University rankings at the end of the fall college golf season will earn a sponsor’s exemption—an opportunity likely within reach for the current PGA Tour U No. 1.
James' NIL portfolio includes Transcend Capital Advisors and PUMA Golf.
Ben James representing the 2023 U.S. Walker Cup team at St. Andrews, Scotland | Robert Perry/ PA Images
Also, in contention for Dubai, Michael La Sasso ranks No. 2 in both the PGA Tour U and Golf NIL College Men's Rankings.
The Ole Miss senior teed it up for his fifth PGA Tour start this week at the Sanderson Farms, landing a solo press interview ahead of the tournament.
"I've had a lot of people come up and talk to me about this before the week even started, so there's been a lot of support," he said about playing in the Jackson, Mississippi event. "There's a lot of people wearing Ole Miss gear, which is definitely nice to see familiar faces."
Major Moves
Lev Grinberg, 17, skyrocketed back into the top 20, currently sitting at No. 16 in the Golf NIL High School Boys Rankings, leveraging an international profile with multiple DP World Tour starts this year alone. The Arkansas commit, currently world No. 95, made his mark as one of just six picked for Team Europe at the 2025 Junior Ryder Cup.
With a packed Wikipedia entry and one of the biggest followings in junior golf, Grinberg has already signed with major brands TaylorMade and Nike. Repped by Modest! Golf Management, he'll arrive in Fayetteville as arguably one of the most marketable juniors in the game.
UNC's Megan Streicher at the Tarheel Invitational held at the Governors Club in Chapel Hill, North Carolina | Andy Mead/ISI Photos via ZUMA Press Wire
North Carolina’s Megan Streicher tops the Golf NIL College Women’s Watchlist. The Team Titleist athlete has recorded several top-10 finishes this year, including 4th at the Folds of Honor Collegiate, a tie for 9th at both the Women’s Western and North & South Amateur Championships, and a runner-up at the Sea Island Women’s Amateur.
Building on that momentum, Streicher won the LPGA Q-Series Pre-Qualifier California last week at Indian Wells Country Club in Indian Wells, Calif. This week, she’s in the field at the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship (Espirito Santo Trophy) at Tanah Merah Country Club in Singapore, representing her native South Africa.
Streicher is joined by several top-ranked Golf NIL players, including Megha Ganne (No. 2), Paula Martin Sampedro (No. 3), Andrea Revuelta (No. 5), Farah O’Keefe (No. 9), Rianne Malixi (No. 10), Meja Ortengren (No. 13), and Lauren Kim (No. 15).
