College sports are now ruled by the phenomenon of NIL. One of the biggest aspects of NIL is that companies can now pay college athletes to promote their brand through endorsements. If I were the NIL agents of these athletes these would be the deals that I would secure for each athlete. There are also some former college athletes that would’ve made some serious money back in their day signing deals which I will also include.
Sam Hartman: Old Spice
If I were Sam Hartman’s NIL Agent I would get him a deal with Old Spice. Let’s all be real, the man is beautiful. His luscious hair, his chiseled physique, and magnificent beard would make Sam Hartman the perfect brand ambassador for Old Spice. Remember those Old Spice commercials with the lumberjacks? Sam Hartman would be perfect for those, he just looks like a lumberjack. He looks like he’d smell nice. This would also be the perfect ambassador if Old Spice ever decides to expand into beard and hair products. For a handsome man like Sam Hartman, the sky’s the limit but I think Old Spice is the perfect NIL Deal for him to sign.
Kyle Filipowski: Bandaids
He might be one of the most disliked and least marketable athletes in college sports currently. The one group of people that might currently purchase any product with Filipowski as the face are the expected annoying and hated Duke fans. Filipowski has come into the typical, Duke, white-guy villain role in recent weeks (think Grayson Allen) after acting like his life was threatened due to a Wake Forest court storming. I think the only way that he can turn his marketability around is by embracing his current character and score himself a deal with Bandaids. This would allow him to poke fun at the recent event and bring him into a more positive light and keep him from falling into the Grayson Allen pitfall. They could run a marketing campaign, away from the typical babies they use in commercials, and use Filipowski instead. The only way to avoid digging deeper into the Duke heel role, Filipowski needs an NIL deal to flip his public image.
Caitlin Clark: Plain Lays Chips
She might be the most marketable college athlete in all of college sports at the moment due to her pioneering achievements and scandal-free career. As the face of women’s collegiate basketball, she is universally well liked. However, to me, her scandal-free career makes her kind of boring. People want some flavor for their stars, not just some plain salt like Catlin Clark. Same thing goes for chips, the plain lays chips are the bag in the variety box that everyone leaves behind, untouched. This bag of chips needs to be revived, and Caitlin Clark can bring this classic, yet boring, flavor back to the spotlight. With her boring yet extreme marketability she can be the one to get fans all over the country back to eating these plain chips. Even the Iowa Hawkeyes colors align with the color of the bag. The flavor of Caitlin Clark’s personality draws parallels to that of Plain Lays chips, making her the perfect face of the brand.
Parker Titsworth: Dr. Miami
You may not have heard this name before, but you may have an idea of the NIL deal he should get. He plays OL for Ohio University and dons number 69 on the field. I believe that Dr. Miami should sign Mr. Titsworth as a brand ambassador for his plastic surgery clinic. I think a play on words could enable a solid marketing campaign with a load of new slogans that would be sure to gain traction on social media. Dr. Miami already uses TikTok to promote his brand and I think with the aid of Parker the brand has potential to explode.
Johnny Manziel: Local Personal Injury Law Firm
It has been recently revealed that Johnny was essentially running his own NIL agency along with a couple of friends during his collegiate days. This guy was one of college football’s biggest stars, dare I say all time as far as bold personality goes. The famous “Money Manziel” celebration would be incredibly marketable, especially for a local personal injury law firm. You drive down I-26 from downtown or tune into the local news and you see these ads everywhere. Imagine how great these could work with college football’s biggest star at the time saying “show me the money.” This would be a hit in College Station, Texas (home of Texas A&M). With Manziel flashing his cash, you can only imagine the money you’d get from your personal injury lawsuit settlement. Every Texas lawyer would be hitting the jackpot by striking an NIL deal with Johnny Manziel in 2012.
Jameis Winston: Joe’s Crab Shack
Jameis Winston in his days as a Florida State Seminole infamously “stole” Crab Legs from a local Publix in Tallahassee. Since the incident, Jameis has coined the nickname simply as “Crab Legs” something people call him to this day. Even despite this incident his popularity remained sky-high, he is even a fan favorite quarterback to this day. With the power that comes from possessing a name that is synonymous to crab legs, only one NIL Deal could come from this: Joe’s Crab Shack. It possesses a restaurant in almost every tourist trap in the Southeastern United States. Nothing holds more power in the South, other than church, than college football. With a college football star associated with their menu prize (crab legs), the sky would be the limit for both Joe and Jameis. They would rule every Florida beach, dominating the touristy seafood market.
Kevin Durant: Ozempic
Ozempic is a drug developed to help in the treatment of Type-2 Diabetes. Now you might think to yourself, “Kevin Durant doesn’t have diabetes” and you would be correct with that idea. However, people across the country are using the drug as the newest weight loss hack sensation. No one represents too skinny like University of Texas Kevin Durant. A marketing campaign lying to say that KD was taking Ozempic to keep his skinny stature could be instantly successful. It would boost the company’s reputation as they could start marketing their drug making the side effects look minimal as KD performs at a high intensity level.
