Fanatics, Alabama launch NIL-focused The Authentic store

Fanatics and Alabama saw their NIL vision come together this past weekend.

The Authentic, a shop focused on NIL merchandise, opened this past weekend for the Texas A&M game in Bryan-Denny Stadium. First announced in July, the store finally opened its doors for Saturday night’s matchup.

Fans had the opportunity to customize Nike player jerseys, T-shirts and headwear. They also had access to game-used memorabilia and digital trading cards from Topps. As part of the unveiling, more than 250 fans received personalized Alabama trading cards.

Plans are in place for The Authentic to be open to the public six days a week. Bryant-Denny fan tours will also make stops at the store, allowing Alabama fans to purchase apparel.

Alabama does not plan to just stop with customizable merchandise. The NIL activation area could soon hold autograph signings, meet and greets and social media marketing opportunities to promote the NIL apparel.

When the news was announced, it was heralded as a new, innovative move in the NIL Era. Fanatics has since started to expand the program, with Oklahoma fans now able to customize Nike jerseys at The Palace.

“Fanatics has been one of Alabama Athletics’ top partners for more than a decade and this new deal elevates our relationship to new heights,” Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne said when the news was initially announced. “By taking advantage of the expanded breadth of Fanatics’ services, we have put our University and student-athletes in a position to maximize sales and brand exposure with Fanatics’ blue-chip family of brands, including Fanatics Commerce, Topps, and Candy Digital.

“I think our fans will be fired up when they see everything come together inside The Authentic shop at Bryant-Denny.”

Alabama continuing to push forward NIL opportunities

At SEC Media Days in July, Nick Saban announced his players had made more than $3 million in the first year of NIL. That number is only going to continue to rise for the Crimson Tide.

Since then, Bryce Young has inked partnerships with Dollar Shave Club, NOBULL and Dr Pepper. Will Anderson Jr. even admitted at SEC Media Days he was starting to take advantage of his NIL potential, using it helps out his family.

“Name, Image and Likeness is not an issue for us at Alabama,” Saban said. “And our players, I think, did better than anybody in the country last year.”

Alabama has also made sure its collective market is not out of control. There’s currently just one NIL collective — High Tide Tradition. With Cole Price running day-to-day operations and Phillip Stutts in a senior advisor role, the organization has made sure to follow Alabama’s views on NIL.

The collective announced a membership program back in August. Fans can start to make donations for as low as $9.99, while larger donations will result in exclusive benefits. HTT has also put plans in place for access to an “insider podcast”, member events and apparel.

The cash raised by fans will help fund HTT, while the rest of the money will go directly to the players.

“You continue to add new revenue streams and funnels so no matter what happens, no matter who is there, no matter what happens in the future, the players are not going to be — the ability for them to make money at Alabama is not going to be disrupted,” Stutts said at the time.