Custom Nike Air Force 1s to benefit Florida baseball's NIL efforts

When Florida baseball made its trip to Omaha, each player rocked a pair of custom Nike Air Force 1s. The white sneakers had the swoosh painted over in blue and orange, giving off the impression of alligator skin.

The Florida baseball Instagram account documented the shoes. Fans flooded the comment section asking how to land a pair of the custom Nikes. Designed by Alma Mater custom apparel, the company has a storefront in Gainesville.

Florida is one win away from capturing its first national title since 2017. The Gators meet LSU in Game 3 of the College World Series on Monday night in Omaha. With the Gators’ success in the College World Series, the decision was made that the custom sneakers would be put on sale for the public. A piece of the profits will go to Florida’s NIL efforts in baseball.

“We’re excited to announce they are now on sale to the public with 15% of each sale going back to NIL efforts for baseball,” the Twitter account wrote.

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Priced at $375, roughly $56 will be funneled back to Florida’s NIL efforts. The Florida Victorious collective shared word of the revenue generating initiative. Jac Caglianone will get the start on the bump for the Gators on Monday night; he was named the American Baseball Coaches Association/Rawlings as the Division I National Position Player of the Year.

The sophomore also leads the country in home runs with 33. With a 54-16 record, the Gators have gone 4-1 during their time in Omaha. Despite dropping Game 1 of the College World Series, they rallied Sunday to route LSU 24-4.

Florida Victorious launched in April as a for-profit entity with Nate Barbera appointed as CEO. The collective has also launched a subscription service for fans, ranging from $15 to $250 a month.

Multiple innovative NIL campaigns launched around College World Series

Because of NIL, college athletes are now able to monetize their publicity rights. Florida is not the first team to participate in an NIL campaign in the College World Series.

The Wake Forest-driven Roll the Quad NIL collective released T-shirts with the words “Roll Tide The Quad” written out, with a ling going through the word “Tide.” The NIL Store and Campus Ink produced the shirts, with $10 from each sale going to the collective and earmarked exclusively for Wake Forest baseball.

The Tennessee-focused Volunteer Club signed a team-wide NIL, paying each baseball player compensated four figures for promoting the collective on social media and signing a few items.