NIL Deals of the Week: Bryce Young to star in Fansville, Jordan Addison inks deal with United

So much for brands waiting to sign NIL contracts with athletes a few weeks into their season.

Some of the biggest names across college football have signed deals over the past week. Bryce Young will make his acting debut this fall in Dr Pepper’s “Fansville.” And Jordan Addison inked his first NIL partnership since January, this one coming with United Airlines.

Oh, yeah, Amazon is ramping up its involvement in NIL, too.

As a reminder, feel free to submit info on your NIL deal to On3. You can send an email to [email protected] or reach out via DM or comment on Twitter to @On3NIL or @deals_nil. Direct messages are open, too, on the @On3NIL Instagram account.

Let’s get to the deals that highlighted this week in NIL.

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Alabama QB Bryce Young signs on with Dr Pepper’s ‘Fansville’

Bryce Young’s Heisman Campaign continues to pay dividends for the Alabama quarterback. The redshirt sophomore signed with Dr Pepper for this year’s edition of “Fansville.”

As part of the agreement, Young will appear on season five of “Fansville.” The ad follows the same episodic format as in past years. The first episode was released earlier this week, with a twist on the impact of college realignment. Young is featured advertising foam fingers.

But more importantly, it helps the quarterback put his brand on display for a larger audience.

He takes over for Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who was the first college football player featured on “Fansville.” Uiagalelei struggled last season as the Tigers failed to make the College Football Playoff. Many questioned if Dr Pepper received the return on investment it had hoped.

“DJ was a great partner last year and we are appreciative of the opportunity to work with him in our first year with NIL partners,” Dr Pepper’s senior vice president of brand marketing for carbonated soft drinks John Alvarado said. “Fansville is all about fandom, which means supporting your teams through thick and thin.”

Young, who holds an On3 NIL Valuation of $3.2 million, has been on a roll as of late, making sure to sign major NIL agreements before he dives into football season. Last week he signed on with Dollar Shave Club and NOBULL. Now he gets to work with a brand that he grew up with.

Hooters inks NIL partnerships with offensive linemen from 10 different schools

So much for team-wide deals. Think multi-team deals.

Hooters announced earlier this week that the restaurant has signed NIL agreements with offensive line players from Miami, USF, Auburn, Georgia Tech, Texas A&M, Oklahoma, Missouri, Vanderbilt, LSU and FAU.

The O-line ambassadors will visit Hooters locations and have starring roles across social media, encouraging fans to make Hooters their gameday destination or to pick up wings and other Hooters favorites for tailgate and viewing parties.

Instead of individual deals with athletes, Hooters is doing NIL deals with offensive line groups at each school because, like a lineman, bigger is better. It also shows a growing trend of major brands opting to select student-athletes from multiple schools. Major companies such as Degree, Outback, Bumble and adidas.

Hooters has joined the list.

USC wide WR Jordan Addison signs NIL deal with United Airlines

USC wide receiver Jordan Addison, the reigning Biletnikoff Award winner who transferred from Pitt in the offseason, announced a deal with United Airlines on Monday. The deal was brokered by his agent, Tim Younger. 

BLVD, the media agency with which USC has partnered, has plans for a larger announcement with the airline next week.

“New routes coming this fall,” Addison wrote in the caption of his Instagram post. “United Airlines has direct flights from college towns across the country to help you follow your team without layovers. This season, you can fly directly from LA to watch our games against Oregon State and Arizona. Let’s go let’s go!”

Days before he officially entered the transfer portal, reports broke that Pitt suspected USC of tampering. Rumors surfaced he signed a NIL deal in Los Angeles. Following his commitment to USC, no proof emerged that he signed a deal with the Trojans. Only rumor after rumor, shows the impact NIL can make on a player’s portal decision.

No matter if a deal was on the table, the move was a major NIL win for Addison. His media market size grew exponentially overnight. The notoriety surrounding the USC program is endless. And with major brands and Hollywood in his backyard, finding opportunities for partnerships will not be a problem.

Addison is already starting to cash in on that. He also holds an On3 NIL Valuation of $1.4 million, which ranks 13th in the NIL 100. His evaluation has taken off in the last 14 weeks, with a 62 percent growth.

Between Instagram and Twitter, he has amassed 36,000 social media followers, which brings his per post value to $742.

Wrangler launches NIL apparel collection with Texas

In celebration of its 75th anniversary, Wrangler is going all out with a collection of officially licensed apparel. The denim brand kicked off the announcement at Texas.

The collection includes partnerships with quarterback Quinn Ewers, linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, swimmer Caspar Corbeau, softball players Lauren Burke and Mary Iakopo, former baseball player Trey Faltine, and volleyball players Madisen Skinner, Molly Phillips and Asjia O’Neal.

Ewers, Overshown and Skinner all signed NIL deals with the company for their time spent and work during photoshoots for the company, sources told On3. The Brandr Group helped in the athlete selection. All three are from Texas and have deep connections with Wrangler — Ewers even pointed out the only pair of jeans he’s ever worn are Wrangler.

Plans are in place for Wrangler to roll out to 30 more schools over the next month. Those institutions include Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Michigan State, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas A&M. No decisions have been made if NIL deals will be struck with athletes at those schools.

Bijan Robinson unveis Dijon Mustard brand

Earlier this offseason, Bijan Robinson made headlines for inking a NIL deal with Lamborghini. Now he has his own condiment line, though.

Pictures emerged last week of the “Bijan Mustardson” dijon mustard brand. Since then, the Texas running back has launched the website. Fans can buy bottles of mustard and merchandise is hitting the site soon.

So where did the idea come from?

The website states: “Bijan did what everyone expected Bijan to do: Create his own gourmet dijon mustard and call it Bijan Mustardson. With the help of top-quality chefs, Bijan made a mustard that was so good, it tasted like a touchdown.”

The Texas star running back remains one of the hottest commodities in the NIL game, as Robinson currently possesses an On3 NIL Valuation of $1.6 million. That’s good enough for the No. 10 spot in the On3 NIL 100, and has him rank at No. 7 overall among all college football athletes.

Honorable Mention

• Starting off with a test trial at USC, Amazon is enlisting student-athletes to promote merchandise through NIL deals. The company is aiming to reach college sports fans across the country with its newly school-licensed gear. The company is positioned to quickly roll out similar programs at major known institutions throughout the rest of the fall. All the apparel is made by Mademark, which is a branch of Amazon Fashion. Amazon is officially making a run at Fanatics and utilizing NIL to its advantage.
• Be the Difference NIL, a Marquette-focused booster-led collective, has signed the entire men’s and women’s Golden Eagle basketball teams to NIL agreements.
• Missouri freshman wide receiver Luther Burden landed a potato chip NIL deal with Old Vienna, a St. Louis company that makes potato chips. The company is releasing a special edition — a Honey Barbeque flavor of their Red Hot Riplets — with Burden’s image and autograph on every bag.
• LSU five-star commit Shelton Sampson Jr. announced Wednesday morning he has signed with Smalls Sliders, a Louisiana-based cheeseburger slider franchise. With locations already in Baton Rouge and Shreveport, Sampson can be an ambassador for years to come thanks to his decision to stay home for college.
• Months after signing to officially with Georgia, Marvin Jones has inked another important contract. He has signed an agreement with the Classic City Collective.