The LSU Tigers are the first college football program to partner with sports apparel giant Fanatics and OneTeam in a deal that will allow fans to purchase fully customizable jerseys of their favorite players, with the athletes earning dollars for each one sold. Athletics Director of Strategic Communications Cody Worsham says this makes LSU more competitive in the new world of NIL.
“It’s part of this new landscape of NIL, where players are able to capitalize on their name, image, and likeness, and the value of their brand,” said Worsham. “And it’s a really exciting program that Fanatics and OneTeam partnered up to help launch.”
LSU players jumped at the chance to participate, with the Tigers voting to fully opt-in to the program in less than a day’s time. Worsham says with LSU being the first to join, others will be quick to follow.
“The exciting thing for LSU is we were able to get all of our guys opted in within 24 hours,” he said. “No other program in the country has done that yet. I imagine they will now.”
Worsham says that this is a win-win deal for the university and the players, with the exposure of one of the nation’s premier athletic programs paired with the extraordinary talents of these student-athletes.
“It’s exciting that these guys can capitalize on their brand value using the LSU marks,” Worsham added. “Elevating their brand, not only through their own talents but through the power of the LSU brand.”
The customizable Nike jerseys will feature the name and number of every player and will be available both online and in the LSU sports shop prior to the start of the 2022 season.
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