White Sox sign eight college athletes, launch CHISOX Athlete NIL program

The Chicago White Sox have made their first move in the NIL world.

The Major League Baseball club announced Wednesday morning it signed eight college athletes to contracts as part of its inaugural CHISOX Athlete NIL program. The new initiative 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).

No baseball or softball players were signed as MLB and NCAA guidelines prohibit certain sports from engaging in deals with their professional counterparts.

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 ChiSox Athletes include a professional photoshoot at Guaranteed Rate Field or 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.

The White Sox are also offering college athletes two complimentary upper-level tickets to select games for the remainder of the season. They can submit a current and valid “.edu” email address and a link to their athletic bio to receive tickets at whitesox.com/nil.

White Sox program sign of growing trend across NIL, professional sports

This is not the first professional organization to sign athletes to NIL deals. The NHL’s Florida Panthers signed former Miami quarterback D’Eriq King to a deal last August, making him the first collegiate athlete to sign a NIL agreement with a professional sports team.

Georgia gymnast Rachel Baumann and Georgia Tech quarterback Jordan Yates signed with the Atlanta Braves nearly a year ago. With that signing, the Braves become the first MLB team to partner with student-athletes.

Similar deals have popped up in the NHL and MLB’s minor league system. Rayquan Smith, who has earned the nickname “King of NIL,” appeared at an event for the Norfolk Admirals hockey team.