LOOK: Kelee Ringo announces NIL deal off of pick-six in national title game
On Monday night, Georgia cornerback Kelee Ringo sealed the deal with a pick-six to win the Bulldogs their first national title in 41 years. Now, the sophomore has a deal of his own.
On Thursday, Ringo announced he has partnered with The Players Trunk, a company which allows athletes to sell merchandise and profit off of their time playing college athletics, to bring Georgia fans commemorative “merch.”
The items show the interception, which came as Alabama quarterback Bryce Young was trying to lead a game-tying touchdown drive with less than one minute left in the game. Ringo leapt into the air with 54 seconds to go and ran the ball back for six points.
The website offers 10 different variations of shirts and sweatshirts that say “SEALED THE DEAL” and display Ringo’s iconic interception. The merchandise ranges in price from $29.99 to $49.99, and Ringo earns part of the profits; after someone asks if he got a portion of the money, the official Players Trunk Twitter account responded “He most certainly does! Source: literally us.”
Clearly, the fun is just getting started for Ringo. He will be back in Athens for at least one more year, as the 2021 season was just his second at the college level. He totaled 34 tackles, eight pass break ups and a sack.
His two interceptions during the 2021 season were both memorable: one against UAB was his first career pick, while the second was the one in the national title game.
Ringo was a highly coveted recruit out of Arizona but subsequently missed his first year on the field at Georgia thanks to an off-season surgery. According to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies, the former five-star prospect was the No. 1 recruit out of his home state and at the cornerback position plus the No. 5 prospect overall.
He was one of just 11 recruits in the 2020 class to earn a five-star plus designation from On3. The company defines those players as “the best of the best, these elite players are the rare athletes that are 5-stars by all four major recruiting media services.”
Ringo’s teammate and offensive tackle Broderick Jones also earned the status. Georgia, Clemson and Ohio State were the only teams in the country that had two players amongst the 11.