NIL Deals of the Week: Decoldest Crawford goes viral, Bryce Young inks two deals
With fall just around the corner, college football a little more than a week away and students headed back to college, this week in NIL proved to be one of the busiest in recent memory.
Need another sign that NIL is coming out of its summer slumber? This week can be the evidence.
Alabama quarterback Bryce Young inked two deals. Nebraska wide receiver Decoldest Crawford saw his commercial go viral with an HVAC company, more proof of what the potential is for companies that enter the NIL space.
The On3 NIL team here is to monitor them all. Don’t forget to follow along with our NIL Deal Tracker as thing start to get busy. And each week, we will identify noteworthy deals in the college athletics and high school landscape.
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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Decoldest Crawford AC commercial goes viral
When SOS Heating and Cooling announced in late July that it had signed Nebraska freshman Decoldest Crawford to an NIL partnership, it caught the attention of social media. The receiver’s name is a perfect marketing tool for the company, similar to Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry‘s deal with Kool-Aid.
The commercial debuted last week. A simple TV ad with a ’90s TV-style theme, the HVAC company tweeted it Friday afternoon. But it was not until Monday — after the ad aired on local television over the weekend — that the commercial featuring the freshman Nebraska wideout and started to gain traction.
As of Thursday morning, the video has over 5.8 million views on Twitter.
“We never ever thought that we would be doing a NIL deal until we saw Decoldest’s name on the roster,” said Jake Wasikowski, who runs as the company’s sales and public relations. “We said, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s, that’s the guy. That’s the one we need to be represented by.’”
Per digital analysis from Talkwalker, which is a listening and analytics company, Crawford’s ad created more than 10,000 unique conversations with more than 111,000 engagements within those conversations and a positive sentiment rate of 58 percent on social media. Talkwalker’s consumer intelligence platform scores sentiment based on language and context.
The former three-star LSU commit is expected to redshirt and miss this season. He suffered an injury in Nebraska’s Aug. 6 scrimmage. With 67,000 social media followers, Crawford has an On3 NIL Valuation of $82,000. That’s only going to grow as his profile in Lincoln and the nation takes off thanks to his viral TV ad.
A little more than a year ago, Crawford would never have been able to ink an NIL deal. Now he’s one of the top success stories of the NIL Era.
CHISOX NIL program debuts
The Chicago White Sox signed eight college athletes to contracts as part of its inaugural CHISOX Athlete NIL program on Wednesday. The new initiative from the MLB organization was created “to help empower student-athletes, their voices and careers both on and off the field,” the White Sox wrote on Twitter.
Sticking to its Chicago roots, each athlete the White Sox signed are Illinoisans. The first wave of CHISOX Athletes includes DePaul basketball players Ahamed Bynum and Anaya Peoples, Michigan‘s A.J. Henning (football) and Cameron Williams (basketball), Notre Dame’s Kiki Van Zanten (soccer), Illinois’ Terrence Shannon Jr. (basketball), Iowa’s Kylie Feuerbach (basketball) and Northwestern’s Temi Thomas-Ailara (volleyball).
As part of the deal, the athletes have branding opportunities with financial incentives for social media promotion. The organization plans on welcoming them to a game in a private suite. They’ll also have access to professional resources and career mentorship from the White Sox front office.
Other perks for the athletes include a professional photoshoot at Guaranteed Rate Field or a nearby Chicagoland sports venue, a custom White Sox jersey, additional CHISOX Athlete-branded merchandise and special opportunities at the ballpark, such as throwing out the first pitch.
It’s another example of how professional teams can optimize NIL. The NHL’s Florida Panthers signed former Miami quarterback D’Eriq King last August. And the Atlanta Braves inked Georgia gymnast Rachel Baumann and Georgia Tech quarterback Jordan Yates last summer, too.
Bryce Young signs with Dollar Shave Club
It had been a fairly quiet summer for Bryce Young. Last offseason, the Alabama quarterback was signing NIL deals worth more than $800,000. He was even being presented with deals worth more than $1 million.
Now the reigning Heisman Trophy winner is starting to ramp back up his NIL activity. In May, he signed with BMW of Tuscaloosa in exchange for a car, and this week he inked two deals. The first was with the Dollar Shave Club, a company that specializes in delivering razors and other personal grooming products to customers by mail.
It’s also another strong, long-term deal for Young. Many experts believe Young will head to the NFL following this season. Setting himself up with companies who he can continue to do business with at the next level is a strategic move. And most of his deals have been similar — Fanatics, Cash App and Onyx.
Bryce Young currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $3.2 million. He ranks No. 3 in the On3 NIL 100 and No. 1 in the On3 NIL College Football NIL Rank, too.
Shelton Sampson Jr. signs partnership with Matchpoint
Shelton Sampson Jr. has quickly emerged as one of the most aggressive and established names in NIL at the high school level.
The five-star wide receiver announced his verbal commitment to LSU nearly two weeks ago. He’s now setting the framework for his brand and future NIL opportunities. Sampson signed with MatchPoint Connection, which uses a unique algorithm to quickly “match” talent to brands for paid promotions. The five-star receiver will be the official high school ambassador for the Baton Rouge-based NIL company.
MatchPoint provided oversight in his first NIL deal — a merchandise partnership with Elete Sports. And Sampson will rely on the company to identify and broker his future deals.
Maybe bigger for Sampson is the role he will play for as MatchPoint’s high school ambassador. Louisiana high school student-athletes are able to profit off their NIL, similar to how college athletes are able to, after a vote by the Louisiana High School Athletic Association in early April. States such as Florida, Texas and Georgia have prohibited student-athletes from participating in NIL activities.
He may sign between three to five deals before he enrolls in college. Discovering what he wants to achieve takes precedence, followed by making sure he delivers a return on investment.
“I feel like if we build our brand the right way, then we should be able to benefit off that,” Sampson told On3, when asked if high schoolers should be allowed to utilize their NIL.
For all the potential Sampson Jr. commands in NIL, his real talents sit on the football field. It’s why he had offers from nearly every top 25 team. And it’s why he even has the opportunity to cash in on NIL — he has an On3 NIL Valuation of $254,000, which ranks No. 26 in On3’s high school NIL rankings.
Bryce Young, Josh Downs, Brock Bowers, Will Levis sign NIL deal with NOBULL
NOBULL unveiled a slew of NIL deals this week, just a day after the athletic training brand became the official combine training partner of the NFL. The NIL deals include an NIL partnership with Alabama quarterback Bryce Young.
NOBULL also announced deals with North Carolina receiver Josh Downs, Georgia tight end Brock Bowers, UCLA running back Zach Charbonnet and Kentucky quarterback Will Levis. It’s also a notable development since each student-athlete plays for a Nike-sponsored school.
The company describes itself as a company for people who work hard and don’t believe in excuses. Starting in 2023, participants at the NFL Combine will have access to the NOBULL apparel and accessories.
It’s another example of the power of group deals in NIL. NOBULL inked arguably two of the top quarterbacks in the SEC, while adding three other skill-position players. If anything, it gives the brand some recognizable college football faces, who may soon will be wearing the company’s apparel in Indianapolis.
Honorable mention
- LSU linebacker Harold Perkins inked his first major NIL deal this week. The coveted On3 Consensus five-star linebacker recruit was the crown jewel of LSU’s 2022 recruiting class and has signed on Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys. Individually, McKernan has become the biggest NIL dealmaker in the LSU market. He’s already struck deals with Kayshon Boutte, Jaquelin Roy, Malik Nabers and other impact Tiger players.
- Rhoback inked its final major NIL deal ahead of the college football season, signing Jalen Milroe to a multi-year agreement. The Alabama quarterback becomes the latest player to ink an exclusive apparel deal with the company. He joins his teammate Will Anderson, Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer and Texas running back Bijan Robinson as a brand ambassadors for the apparel company.
- Naomi Osaka’s suncare brand, formulated specifically for people with melanated skin, signed five athletes to NIL contracts. KINLÒ has inked brand partnerships with Deja Kelly (North Carolina women’s basketball), Reilyn Turner (UCLA women’s soccer), Robert Dillingham (Kentucky basketball commit), Xolani Hodel (Stanford beach volleyball) and Ziyah Holman (Michigan track). The five athletes join the suncare company for the inaugural #GlowOutside social campaign.
- Fresno State wide receiver Jalen Cropper had his moment in the NIL spotlight this week, starring in a TV commercial for Fresno First Bank. The second-team All-Mountain West selection reeled in a pair of no-look catches.