Florida State's Jordan Travis releases 'College King' shirt, trolls Clemson and LSU
Jordan Travis was not perfect Saturday at Clemson.
The Florida State quarterback even noted in his postgame comments he missed too many throws early when his receivers had one-on-one matchups. But as he has proven multiple times already this season, Travis delivered when the Seminoles needed to make a play.
The quarterback injured his left shoulder last week at Boston College. He aggravated the shoulder again on Saturday. That didn’t deter him from leading Florida State to an overtime win over Clemson. He threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Keon Coleman, keeping the Seminoles perfect on the year. Now 4-0, they’re ranked No. 5 in the country.
Travis is capitalizing on the win, too. The Heisman Trophy contender has released “College King 2.0” shirts, an obvious troll of Clemson and LSU. The T-shirts feature him sitting on a throne in his uniform with a crown on top of his head.
In front of him sit two tigers. One is clearly a shot at the Clemson Tigers, in the bright orange and purple colors. The other is supposed to be Mike the Tiger, the live LSU mascot. Florid State has picked up wins over both teams in September.
Priced at $31.24 – the score of Saturday’s win over Clemson – the shirts go a step further than just Travis cashing in thanks to NIL. Profits from the shirt will be evenly split with the Florida State offensive line. Fans can buy the T-shirt in maroon, gray or black.
Travis finished Saturday throwing for 289 yards and two touchdowns. The quarterback was 21 of 37 with a 56.8% completion rate. He rushed for a touchdown, too.
‘College King’ shirt not infringing on trademarks
Jordan Travis ended up in the crosshairs of Joe Exotic on Sunday night, as the so-called “Tiger King” claimed the quarterback was infringing on his trademark. Yet according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office database, Exotic only has the “Tiger King” trademark for use with firearms, gaming machines and skin creams.
The T-shirt that Travis released does not even include the words “Tiger,” nor does it appear to have any affiliation with Joe Exotic. Currently incarcerated, the “Tiger King” called for an attorney to sue Travis.
“Travis has branded the shirt as a College King shirt, and I don’t see how any reasonable consumer would be confused as to the source of the item nor whether there is an affiliation or association with Joe Exotic,” IP attorney Darren Heitner told On3. “Travis is clearly exploiting a parody of the Tiger King based on beating Clemson and LSU. It’s creative and I give him and his reps credit for the ingenuity.”
Jordan Travis continues to grow NIL brand
While the Florida State quarterback has the Seminoles sitting at 4-0, he’s also capitalized off-the-field in NIL. He could have left for the NFL draft this past spring. Instead, he’s been rewarded by signing upwards of five endorsement deals this offseason.
The quarterback has agreed to endorsement deals with Leaf Trading Cards, Hotel Indigo, NextGen Camps and Tallahassee Ford. He’s also inked an agreement with The Battle’s End, a Florida State-focused NIL collective that launched in early December.
He’s also one of 15 college football players who signed on to the inaugural “Beats Elite” class in August. Athletes will be featured across various marketing campaigns and wear custom Beats products.
Travis has a $698,000 On3 NIL Valuation, which ranks in the top 45 of college football. His social media following continues to grow in part because of the backing of the Florida State fanbase. He has 138,000 followers and counting.
The valuation ranks No. 56 in the On3 NIL 100, which is the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.