Thanks to NIL, Ohio State QB CJ Stroud gifts ‘game day suits’ to teammates

NIL has generated a lot of negative attention over the past 15 months. But there are moments when you get to see the pure awesomeness that name, image and likeness sometimes creates. One of those moments took place Thursday with Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud.

In a tweet shared by the Buckeyes’ official football Twitter account, CJ Stroud revealed he was using his NIL partnership with Express to help his teammates buy suits for game day.

“I just wanted to do something for the team,” Stroud says in front of his teammates huddled around him. “So, I got everybody $500 gift cards to go to Express. Ya’ll can get your own suit and make sure you’re looking fly.”

Understandably, Stroud’s gift was greeted by loud cheers from his teammates. You can watch the reveal in the video below.

game day suits courtesy of QB1 💼#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/vW7ZCOzGvt

— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) September 1, 2022

CJ Stroud has been one of the big winners of the NIL era of college sports. He has an On3 NIL Valuation of $2.5 million and he’s nearing double-digit publicly announced NIL deals. One of his first major deals was a partnership with Express — a Columbus-based fashion brand and retailer with a nationwide footprint.

“This is a truly authentic connection,” Sara Tervo, Express’ chief marketing officer, said when the deal was announced. “We were talking internally about our style ambassadors. So, we reached out to see if there was an opportunity.”

In addition to appearing in ads for Express and promoting the brand on both his and Express’ social media channels, Stroud will take part in live streaming events as well as making in-store and other online appearances.

Who knows, we might just see another awesome NIL moment if CJ Stroud takes his offensive line to the mall to use the Express gift cards. Maybe he can use his deal with Designer Shoe Warehouse to get his guys some new kicks, too.