Express expands NIL ambassador program, signs four college basketball players

Express quickly established itself as an active brand in the NIL market.

The fashion retailer has previously signed notable Ohio State players like C.J. Stroud and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Now the Columbus, Ohio, based company is expanding its NIL operations to the national level.

Moving away from the football space, Express has signed men’s basketball players Jahvon Quinerly (Alabama), Justice Sueing (Ohio State), Keyonte George (Baylor) and Nick Smith (Arkansas). The partnerships mark the first deal in the fashion industry for each athlete.

While the terms of the agreements were not disclosed, the deals go through the remainder of college basketball season. A social-focused campaign, the athletes will be featured on the brand’s social media channels.

As for the responsibilities for each player, they will post on their respective Instagram and TikTok accounts starting this month and continuing through March. In the paid partnerships, they will discuss their style tips that give them confidence off the court.

Express will also style each of their ambassador in its spring 2023 catalog for their collegiate events and appearances for the remainder of the season.

“The time was right to expand our collegiate athlete style ambassador program and we are so pleased to welcome four more top athletes to join our styling community,” Express’ executive vice president and chief marketing officer Sara Tervo said in a statement. “Over the last year, we have seen incredible success with this program. We can’t wait to work with these talented athletes who have great style and represent confidence and authenticity.”

While the main focus for the company has been on football and basketball, Tervo told Forbes that adding female athletes as ambassadors is also under consideration.

“We are exploring opportunities to work with more female student athletes and are always building and investing in our styling community and looking for like-minded partners that align with our brand purpose,” she said. “As we look to connect with our customers, we maintain continuous dialogue and will evolve our community to best serve the needs of our customers.”

Breaking down Express ambassador’s On3 NIL Valuation

Keyonte George holds the highest On3 NIL Valuation of the four, sitting at $509,000 at No. 62 in the On3 NIL 100. A Villanova transfer, Jahvon Quinerly holds a $496,000 On3 NIL Valuation, which ranks 63rd in the On3 NIL 100.

With more than 70,000 social media followers, Justice Sueing has a $39,000 On3 NIL Valuation. Nick Smith has a $10,200 evaluation.

The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. A proprietary algorithm, the On3 NIL Valuation calculates an athlete’s NIL value using dynamic data points targeting three primary categories: performance, influence and exposure.

About On3 NIL Valuation, Brand Value, Roster Value

While the algorithm includes deal data, it does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals athletes have completed to date, nor does it set an athlete’s NIL valuation for their entire career.

The On3 NIL Valuation accounts for an athlete’s roster value and brand value. Roster value is the value an athlete has by being a member of his or her team at his or her school, which factors into the role of NIL collectives. Brand value factors in an athlete’s personal brand and the value it could bring to regional and national brands outside of the scope of NIL collectives.

The On3 NIL Valuation is publicly available. Performance, Influence, and Exposure ratings along with the athlete’s personal Brand Value Index and Roster Value Index are available only to the athlete in the “Athlete Verified” private dashboard on the On3 Athlete Network.