Notre Dame TE Michael Mayer part of Levi’s NIL partnership with Tight End University
Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer has rarely dipped into the name, imagine and likeness space since college athletes were allowed to do so last year. His most notable NIL activity is a youth camp he held near his hometown of Independence, Ky. this spring. Pictures from it never even turned into an Instagram post on his account.
He has now taken the plunge.
Mayer is a Levi’s brand ambassador as part of Tight End University’s partnership with the denim clothing maker, he announced in a social media post Thursday. He is part of the first “TEU freshman class” along with Michigan’s Erick All and Alabama’s Cameron Latu. Mayer, All, Latu and San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle appeared in Instagram posts from Levi’s and TEU Thursday revealing the “freshman class.”
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“TEU & our partner [Levi’s] are pumped to share the first ever TEU Levi’s Freshmen Class!” TEU’s post read. “Thanks to Levi’s for bringing out three of the best Tight Ends in college football for a few days of education at TEU. Stay tuned for more content from Levi’s and the class.”
Levi’s paid for Mayer, Latu and All to attend the second annual TEU summit in Nashville June 22-24. TEU is a skills camp and training program exclusively for tight ends founded in 2021 by Kittle, Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce and 14-year NFL veteran Greg Olsen. More than 80 NFL players were at the 2022 summit, including former Notre Dame tight end Cole Kmet.
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The criteria for being selected to the TEU freshman class isn’t known, but if largely tied to on-field performance and visibility, Mayer was a logical choice. He led all Power Five tight ends with 71 catches last season. He finished with 840 yards and seven touchdowns in 12 games. He broke Notre Dame’s record for single-season touchdown catches by a tight end (six), which was most recently tied by Kmet in 2019.
Mayer is a projected first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, with some early mocks including him in the top 10. He is poised to continue the run of Notre Dame starting tight ends becoming draft picks, which began with 2004-05 starter Anthony Fasano (a second-round selection in 2006).
Mayer is on the 2022 Mackey Award preseason watch list for the country’s best tight end and the Biletnikoff Award list (best receiver).
