- Sports Court: NIL Newsletter
- Posts
- Sports Court #57 | Start your engines!
Sports Court #57 | Start your engines!
The fastest 3 minutes in name, image and likeness
Tariq Ahmad
August 02, 2023
Thank you for your continued support of this newsletter. Please share with anyone who would be interested in this content.
Today’s Case
11 KU athletes to be featured on NASCAR during September Xfinity Series race at Kansas Speedway
NASCAR featuring 11 University of Kansas athletes (Photo Credit: JD Motorsports)
Eleven University of Kansas student-athletes will be featured on a NASCAR Xfinity Series race car at the Kansas Lottery 300 on September 9 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas. The partnership was arranged by BeOne Sports and the Mass St. Collective in collaboration with JD Motorsports to sponsor Brennan Poole’s No. 6 Chevrolet Camaro for the race.
Some of the athletes include:
Hunter Dickinson, Dajuan Harris Jr., KJ Adams Jr. and Kevin McCullar Jr. (men’s basketball)
Jalon Daniels and Devin Neal (football)
Caroline Bien (volleyball)
Taiyanna Jackson (women’s basketball)
Mass St. Collective President and former KU Senior Associate Athletic Director Dan Beckler: “Our goal at Mass St. Collective is to find new and unique instances where we can grow the brand of our KU student-athletes in new and meaningful ways through name, image and likeness. To partner with BeOne Sports and have 11 Jayhawks on a NASCAR is something that has never been done before, and it’s an exciting way to bring NIL and college athletes to the racing industry. Brand loyalty is the best among NASCAR fans, and we hope this car only adds to that. What makes this even more special is to debut the car in our home state at Kansas Speedway.”
The Verdict:
Props for the creativity of this partnership
Truly a first of its kind deal - and one that can carry a lot of brand affinity for a brand-heavy sport such as NASCAR.
Additionally, having this car featured at a NASCAR race in Kansas is fitting - and is the place where this partnership will be most successful.
Perhaps this partnership can later convert to a local car dealer opportunity for these athletes.
Ensuring multiple athletes from multiple sports are included is solid
Not only does this spread the wealth of the partnership, but also having women Jayhawk athletes featured is great.
What were the logistics of this deal?
Assuming JD Motorsports paid Mass St. Collective a fee for the 11 athletes’ use of their name, image and likeness.
And if so, perhaps merchandise can be created NASCAR-style for these athletes to sell and earn some additional cash for themselves.
Also, it would be great if all 11 athletes were on site 1-2 days before the race to meet fans, pose with the car for pics and autographs, etc. (Perhaps this is in the works and will be rolled out on race weekend.)
I’m hosting an NIL for Parents Webinar on Wednesday, August 16!
Topics include (but not limited to) What is NIL, what parents should ask schools, and how to get started.
Register here (early bird pricing through August 6th) and please share with anyone who would be interested in this webinar!
Reply