The NIL era in college football, and the big money the athletes have been attracting, have created an impression of selfishness and greed. While the opportunities and earning potential are immense, it is not just about the money for the players. At least not for all. For Colorado Buffaloes freshman WF Drelon Miller, the NIL provided him the means to show “appreciation” to his hometown community in Texas through a $4,000 donation.
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“NIL just changed the game for a lot of us. Some people use it in the right way, some people use it in the wrong way. It’s just that god put that on my heart, just to give a little appreciation to the people who helped me get to this point and guided me this way,” Miller said in the Colorado Football Player Feature video on YouTube.
The funds will go toward Little Dribblers, a youth basketball program in Miller’s hometown of Silsbee. A product of the program himself, Miller believes in the importance of youth growing up in an environment where they will “…always have that competition”.
He has also donated $1,000 in funds to the All Faith School. “I know how it can be for kids to not grow up with everything they want,” he added.
Miller’s donation will help ensure the youth from the area get better access to social events and holiday festivities.
“I don’t have all the money in the world, but I feel like this is just to show them a little appreciation. It’ll just get bigger from here on out, but this is just to show [the community] how much I appreciate them,” said Miller.
In the video, uploaded by Colorado Football, various community members were seen thanking Miller for his generosity. One of them went as far as to say “…The check could’ve been $10, it wouldn’t have mattered. Just for him to be able to do that at 19 years old is a feat in itself.”
One of the Little Dribbers program’s leaders, Latosha Watts, praised Miller for how he has grown as an athlete and a human being.
“He is a wonderful role model. All the kids look forward to seeing him. All of the kids look forward to hugging him… He is a really big role model for our community… He is a very well-raised kid and that shows in everything that he does,” said Watts.
The four-star recruit produced 13 total 100+ receiving yard games, and three games of 200+ receiving yards in his high school career in Silsbee. He amassed 3,571 receiving yards and 43 touchdowns on 155 receptions, averaging 23 yards per reception and 85 receiving yards per game.
Miller’s NIL deal is estimated to be in the range of $150,000. Listed as the 39th-best player in the nation, the Colorado Buffaloes seem to have found themselves yet another winner both on and off the field.
The true freshman will look to start his college career off on the right track too. He will take the field under head coach Deion Sanders in a showdown against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Folsom Field in Boulder on August 30, 2025.
