Q&A: Sports Marketing Director on NIL realm, Michigan brand, Semaj Morgan

The Wolverine sat down with 4EVR Sports marketing director, Ben Dietrich, whose agency has signed a non-exclusive contract with incoming Michigan wide receiver Semaj Morgan, who was the second-longest active verbal commit in the 2023 class. Morgan, who’s NIL valuation out of high school is 18.9K, according to On3.com, will have professional assistance once enrolled when navigating through off the field matters.

Dietrich discussed the transformation of college athletics because of NIL, the relationship with Morgan and his family, as well as the opportunity to work with Michigan athletes and the Michigan brand itself.

On how NIL transformed college athletics:

”People follow money. The bigger fanbases, the bigger donors, that’s always going to play a big part, because athletes are now able to dramatically change their lives. I also see it changing college athletics because it’s forced the athletes to grow up quicker. Coming from the influencer marketing world, these athletes are indeed, influencers, and have immediately became a brand straight out of high school. That’s something 4EVR Sports wants to help athletes understand and also educate and assist their families when growing that player’s platform. Not a lot of players actually realize their full potential.”

On how NIL will adapt over time:

”That’s the thing. NIL is going to continue to transform. Some might think that others are going to put a stop to this or add more regulations. Obviously, once this started, the flood gates completely opened. Let’s say there’ll never be new restrictions put in place with no adaptations, I just see the world of NIL where players are going to be changing the way they approach social media. I’m being generous when I say that maybe 95 percent do not take advantage of it whatsoever. They take what they can get, but they don’t take what’s fully being offered.”

On the type of athletes sports marketing agencies desire to work with:

“We obviously want to find very talented kids but it’s our job to help them recognize their true talent. We also don’t want them to turn into a person that they’re not. We want them to build their own brand. We strive to figure out who these players want to be. So regardless if their playing career ends after four years in college or after 20 years in the NFL, we want them to have a very distinct brand that they can live off of. Going back to finding those kids, we want to work with those who are smart, intelligent, who take their lives seriously. Not just in athletics but in aspects off the field as well.”

On why athletes should work alongside sports marketing agencies:

”It’s more so of a jump start. No one knows everything. Everyone who works with us isn’t paying us to help them, we’re simply assisting them. They’re focus should be on education and should be on football. Any extra free time that they may have, we can help them utilize that time into shaping their brand. You can make the case that no one necessarily needs (NIL assistance), but it’s a great opportunity and something to take advantage of. If you asked athletes who were around 10 or 20 years ago, how much work would they do in order to make as much money as possible off their brand? It’s just a golden opportunity and we want to make sure they’re taken care of as much as possible.”

On Semaj Morgan and his family:

“Semaj is great. He’s a very intelligent guy and knows a lot of people at Michigan. He’s really been great when introducing us to other Michigan players and recruits. I’ve haven’t had the chance to meet (Semaj Morgan Sr.’s) wife, Erika (Morgan), but (Semaj’s) dad has kind of been the parent who helps bring everyone (at Michigan) together.”

On having connections at Michigan:

”It’s been great. Anyone who hears ‘Michigan,’ they know what comes along with it too. It’s the winningest program in college football history. The backings that they enjoy like being the number one public university in America. It’s been really easy to introduce ourselves to that brand. I will say, as much as it’s Michigan, it’s really the athletes themselves. It’s all analytics too, right? They have a decent amount of followers but they also have really great engagement. People who follow these athletes are genuinely interested in seeing what they’re doing and what they bring to the university. Michigan fans are very passionate and because of that, it translates into the following that the athletes garner on social media, which helps so much with NIL deals.”

On how Michigan athletes can better market themselves to fans:

”This goes back to being an influencer. Whether it’s Michigan, Alabama, Ohio State, any big time school…go look at that school’s top ten athletes. They’re all just posting about football. It’s like ’I’m excited to be a Wolverine’ and there won’t be another post for another four months. Then, it’ll be ’that was a great game.’ That’s cool, but it’s not that interesting. We already know that you play football. Tell us more about yourself. If you’re a workout warrior, simply post on your story of you making oatmeal beforehand. People want to see how you became you. Take Will Johnson, for example. He came into Michigan as a skinny guy. Now, you look at him, and he’s absolutely jacked. People want to know how guys like Will created that physique. With all of that being said, how athletes can take advantage of their status, is by solidifying their brand. Everyone who plays football has a helmet and no one can see your face on the field. Players need to know what differentiates them from the rest? Create their brand, do what they enjoy doing, figure out what they want to share with their fanbase. That opens eyes.”