Homefield Apparel launches NIL collective program

Homefield Apparel is rolling out a new NIL initiative on Monday that could create a new revenue stream for donor-driven collectives.

The vintage college sports apparel brand launched partnerships with five collectives. The campaign –dubbed the Homefield NIL Partnership Program – utilizes the company’s direct-to-consumer model by managing all aspects of the activation.

Homefield inked year-long partnerships with five NIL collectives: Georgia’s Classic City, Purdue’s Boilermaker Alliance, Florida’s Florida Victorious, Indiana’s Hoosiers Connect and Kansas State’s Wildcat NIL. Through these agreements, and the use of collective-specific codes, Homefield will allocate 10% of sales revenue generated to that collective.

The campaign will also allow for six enhanced promotional days for each collective, where Homefield will share 20% of revenue to the collective while offering 20% off to customers. It’s a notable move, as the partnerships create a revenue stream to support athletes with direct benefits from apparel sales.

“People do this stuff for bake sales, they do this for high school jersey funds,” Homefield’s marketing director Josh Johns told On3. “Collectives have been driven toward hitting up the big donors over and over for the big bucks. What they haven’t been able to do is this, a grassroots-style campaign. Any club you’ve ever been in does this but also drives revenue. When people are already buying Georgia, Florida and Indiana gear, they’re also supporting collectives.”

Homefield jumps into NIL

The popular apparel company was founded in August 2018 by Connor Hitchcock and his wife, Christa. Located in Indianapolis, the brand has become popular through its “Big Noon Saturday” drops in the summer with more than 150 college licenses. The company has also tapped into providing a wide range of logos for fans to pick from, whether it be an institution’s most recent marks or ones from back in the 1980s.

It’s slow-rolled into NIL, with this new collective campaign its most prominent move to date. Sam Hartman released a T-shirt with the company this past football season. While Homefield is only starting with five collectives, the program has plenty of room for growth to include more of the booster-driven organizations.

“Since the summer of 2021, we’ve been evaluating avenues for Homefield to thoughtfully and meaningfully support student-athletes,” Connor Hitchcock said. “We’re finally able to do so through the Homefield NIL Partnership Program, and we could not be more excited to play a role in athletes monetizing their name, image and likeness.”