- Sports Court: NIL Newsletter
- Posts
- Sports Court #78 | Building an NIL Legacy
Sports Court #78 | Building an NIL Legacy
The fastest 3 minutes in name, image and likeness
Tariq Ahmad
September 25, 2023
Thank you for your continued support of this newsletter. Please share with anyone who would be interested in this content.
Today’s Case
Shedeur Sanders building NIL brand with SS2LEGENDARY, releases new merchandise
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders (Photo Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports)
Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, the youngest son of Buffaloes football head coach Deion Sanders, is doing something nobody else in college sports has mastered yet in the NIL era: building out an apparel brand. A play on his name, Shedeur Sanders has created the SS2LEGENDARY brand.
Merchandise launched in December 2021 with a simple red sweatshirt and the “$2” logo, which is Sanders’s jersey number and frequently appears on the apparel. Sanders filed to trademark the mark in February for goods and services, including footwear, sweatshirts athletic apparel, baseball camps and skull caps.
He’s been proactive in marketing the merchandise as well: The brand’s Instagram account has over 11.3K followers, and Sanders released apparel that included the Colorado Buffaloes logo along with his last name and the “$2” logo. This is particularly significant as many college athletes have had limited success trying to secure access to institution’s IP marks outside of group licensing agreements.
Combining the on-field success with his last name and major social media following, it’s easy to see why brands would want to work with him. His On3 NIL Valuation has risen in the last few weeks from $1.4 million to $5.1 million, which ranks tops in college football and No. 2 in the On3 NIL 100.
The Verdict
Optimal way to control your brand via NIL
As we know, NIL is a gamechanger for student-athletes. Shedeur is taking it to the next level by creating merchandise and capitalizing via his on-field success.
Even if an athlete doesn’t have the marketing scale of Shedeur, controlling what you can for NIL (merchandise line, content creation, etc.) can be a great neutralizer. If student-athletes have a good product and market it well, sales and popularity will follow.
Like father, like son
Shedeur is learning from the master of athlete marketing - his father Deion.
The last few weeks alone has shown what Deion can do with marketing himself, his team and brands he works with on a national level. Shedeur is following in his father’s footsteps and maximizing his NIL on a large scale.
Secure CU’s intellectual property (IP) is massive
Outside of group licensing agreements, it’s tough to secure school IP rights for merchandise. Having said merchandise gives it a more authentic feel.
Plus, having Deion (perhaps) pulling some strings proved to be valuable.
Trending audio = cool content
When cool social media challenges or trending audios surface, leverage them for fun content. Check out this video for more!
Reply