LSU's Harold Perkins Jr. releases official website with custom merch

On3 imageby:Andy Wittry02/01/23

AndyWittry

LSU freshman linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. tweeted 25 characters on Wednesday morning: “officialharoldperkins.com.”

The tweet included a screenshot of the homepage of Perkins’ official website, where he sells custom shirts, hoodies, hats, shorts and pants that utilize his name, image and likeness rights.

It’s the latest example of athletes who have capitalized on NIL opportunities by establishing their own brand or clothing line.

The clothing in Perkins’ “collage collection” feature overlapping images of the linebacker in an LSU uniform. Other items say, “Perk Nation” in all-caps font or feature his logo with his initials “HP.”

The prices for the products available online range from $25 for beanies and youth shirts to $60 for hoodies.

At the bottom of Perkins’ official website, a message says, “Interested in working with me? I’m looking for partnerships and might be interested in working with you. Please fill out this form so we can connect.”

The website also allows visitors to subscribe for notifications.

Harold Perkins earns national recognition as a freshman

Perkins was named a finalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman Player of the Year Award. He also received SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors multiple times.

As a recruit, Perkins was ranked as the No. 1 linebacker prospect and No. 9 player nationally, according to the On3 Consensus.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pound linebacker finished his freshman season with 72 total tackles, including 13 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. He also recorded four forced fumbles, three passes defended and one interception.

Perkins had two of his best performances against Alabama and Georgia. He faced the latter in the SEC Championship Game.

The freshman had 10 total tackles, including eight solo stops against Georgia. He also forced one fumble.

Against Alabama, Perkins made eight tackles, including a sack, and he defended a pass.

The following week against Arkansas, he had eight tackles, including three sacks, plus two forced fumbles and one pass defended.

LSU-focused NIL collective Bayou Traditions launches

Perkins, his teammates and fellow LSU athletes will soon have the opportunity to benefit from the recent launch of a Tigers-focused NIL collective Bayou Traditions. Perkins’ On3 NIL Valuation of $768,000, which factors in his roster value to collectives and brand value to sponsors, is second only to LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne among athletes at the university.

LSU athletic director Scott Woodward promoted Bayou Traditions in a video that LSU’s athletic department shared on Twitter. The collective offers six tiers of memberships for its contributors, which range from $100 per month to $50,000 annually.

Brent Cunningham, who’s an LSU alum who previous served as the president of operations for the since-paused TCU-aligned collective Think NIL, serves as the president for Bayou Traditions.