YouTube superstar Jimmy ‘MrBeast’ Donaldson responded to a suggestion that he could invest $100 million into a College Football program and make it successful.
The money within College Football has exploded over the last few years as student-athletes are now able to be paid through NIL – name, image, and likeness – deals. This has seen the return of the super-popular NCAA Football video game series, and a whole host of rich alumni spending big money on their colleges.
While it hasn’t matched the levels of spending that exists within the NFL, College Football has become an arms race, with players being paid to transfer schools, and coaches making more money than ever.
Naturally, it’s been suggested that it’s something that MrBeast could break into. Given his roots in Greenville, N.C, fans have often said that he could invest in East Carolina, bankrolling a resurgence in the Pirates’ football program.
It was brought up back in December, with podcasters TheRealOShow suggesting that MrBeast could spend $100 million on the program and essentially speedrun them into becoming national champions.
“Imagine him dumping $100M into ECU like one of his videos and trying to win a national championship. That might be the greatest YouTube idea ever,” they posted on instagram.
Well, on February 3, the YouTuber responded, offering hope to East Carolina fans. “Should I do this?” he responded, adding a bunch of crying emojis too.
As HoistTheColours, a ECU fan site points out, MrBeast does have plenty of connections to the college. He and ECU announced a partnership in November of 2022 for an online course about creator economy.
Additionally, they reported that there has been meetings between MrBeast’s team and ECU about funding, with the university pitching them about an access all–areas documentary.
“Another meeting between MrBeast reps and ECU is trending towards happening, too, sources say, and has been discussed for weeks,” HoistTheColours added.
It would, undoubtedly, be an interesting move and the biggest YouTube-related step into bankrolling college football.
Donaldson has got plenty of connections in football too, once leading out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before a game, and he’s now got a Super Bowl commercial too.
