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Today’s Case

Missouri football players leverage NIL rights for frozen pizza collaboration

Missouri starting linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper and cornerbacks Ennis Rakestraw Jr. and Kris Abrams-Draine used their NIL rights to market a line of frozen pizzas, with the deal facilitated via theEvery True Tiger Foundation collective.

The pizzas are available in Missouri and Illinois at 83 locations of the supermarket chain Schnucks, which was founded in St. Louis. The packaging features the three defensive starters for eight weeks. Then, a new set of Missouri athletes will be featured. It’s a 12-month program, so basketball players will be featured in the future, as well as athletes who compete in spring sports.

The packaging features the Missouri Tigers logo, Every True Tiger Foundation’s name and logo, plus the players’ names and images of them in uniform.

Every True Tiger Foundation CEO Nick Garner: “Really for these student-athletes, it’s a value to what they’re already doing as contract employees for us,. It’s more than just saying, ‘Hey, here’s your X amount. Here are the things you need to do for it.’ Yes. But it’s truly an NIL deal and that’s what excites us about it.”

The Verdict:

• More co-branded products is the way to go

  • Instead of athletes repping brands on their own, having a co-brand/co-sponsor approach is smart, as it can help both the athlete and the vendor reach a wider audience and feature more products. This can work in several fields:

    • Food: Energy bars, pre-packaged meals, etc.

    • Beverage: Water, energy drinks, coffee, etc.

    • Clothing: Hoodies, t-shirts, hats, etc.

• Use of uniform rights is big

  • While it might not seem like a big deal, having athletes in their actual uniforms for NIL deals is a much more natural fit than not being allowed to wear team merchandise. (Mizzou received a licensing fee, which allowed this to happen.)

    • The alternate is the plain or logo-removed uniform, which although still effective, isn’t quite the same as using school logos.

• Featuring different athletes from various Mizzou sports throughout the school year is huge

  • This ensures more athletes eat (no pun intended) by providing players from other sports an opportunity to earn some money from this NIL deal.

    • Additionally, the use of in-season athletes throughout the school year showcases good timing.

LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne launches The Livvy Fund to support female LSU athletes

Dunne joins forces with Bayou Traditions and some of her own brand partners to launch this initiative. Watch this video for more insight!

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Court is adjourned. Go be great!!