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Today’s Case

Florida A&M Cheerleading team lands NIL deal with Mielle Organics

Although cheerleading isn’t an NCAA sport (but it should be), this isn’t stopping cheerleaders from securing NIL deals.

Last month, the Florida A&M University (FAMU) Cheerleaders entered into three-year partnership with hair care brand Mielle Organics. The deal is worth a reported $250,000 and includes product sampling, activations and social media campaigns among a multi-year brand ambassadorship.

Omar Goff, president of Mielle Organics and FAMU graduate: “I loved everything about my time at FAMU, and this is a full circle moment to give back in this way. We started the HBCU partnership journey at Howard University with the queens of the pool, and now we are here to partner with the queens of cheer.”

Earlier this year, the company announced a landmark deal with LSU basketball’s Angel Reese for the brand’s marketing, social media, events and a limited-edition product bundle.

This is the first hair care brand partnership for the FAMU Cheer team.

The Verdict

• Hair care brands continue to increase their NIL presence

  • As this is a phenomenal partnership for both Mielle Organics and FAMU, we are seeing this type of partnership becoming more commonplace.

    • Earlier this year, Hally Hair announced an extension to their NIL partnership, working with 70+ schools and 250+ student-athletes.

    • Young King Hair Care also has a NIL program that allows participants to earn commission on products sold and learn about building their brand.

  • Additionally, hair care products are very personal for users and brand loyalty is high. Therefore, student-athletes can leverage this as a personal connection with brands for partnerships.

• Love to see the HBCU focus

  • Something I see regularly amongst HBCU’s is the number of team deals and the large number of athletes in select partnerships - moreso than non-HBCU schools and conferences.

    • In addition to this FAMU/Mielle Organics deal, Grambling has a deal in place that provides an NIL stipend to every scholarship student-athlete, and McDonald’s partnered with over 40 HBCU athletes earlier this year to promote the restaurant’s MyMcDonald’s Rewards Program.

• Untraditional NIL partnerships

  • It’s cool to see more collaborations away from football and basketball, as well as non-NCAA sports.

    • In October, the University of Iowa marching band signed an NIL deal with The Brick Kitchen, an Iowa-based company which creates quality products to inspire everyday chefs.

Caitlin Clark signs NIL deal with Gatorade!

The company will also make a donation to her Foundation. Watch this video for more!

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^{I discuss insights and news related to name, image and likeness in 3 minutes or less every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 12p ET/9a PT.}

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