Kansas football players look to use NIL for charity

Kansas Jayhawk football players Devin Neal and Kenny Logan Jr. participated in a NIL charitable event on Monday, called 5k Home Run. The event — which is now legal for student-athletes to be involved with due to NIL rules — supported Family Promise of Lawrence, Kan. It’s an organization that helps families going through a housing crisis of some kind. It’s an event that they were able to participate in due to new rules.

Both players say they now want to participate in more charitable events through the use of their NIL.

“I definitely see this could lead to future charitable things, and just doing some good for the community,” Neal told the Topeka Capital-Journal. “And I sure hope that other organizations come to me and a few other football guys because I think we could be a great representation for their programs.”

Logan said he got a great feeling giving back to the community. Furthermore, it shows he has interests outside of football and that he is more than just an athlete.

“I was definitely excited about this opportunity, but if more opportunities come up for me to be a part of, and me to help out, I’m definitely going to accept them,” Logan told the paper.

For both Neal and Logan, this was their first NIL endeavor. While at the 5k, the two signed autographs and cheered runners on, lending their names as a way of promoting the event.

“It’s actually something that I envisioned more doing instead of doing the more stuff for myself, because that’s just the type of person that I want to be growing up, that helps my community,” Neal said. “And, just, now that I have the avenue to be able to do that, it means a lot more. So, I’ll gladly love to keep doing stuff like this and it doesn’t even have to necessarily be for money. I would just love to do charitable events.”

Neal is a running back for Kansas, who is originally from Lawrence. Logan, meanwhile, is a safety who comes from Florida.

What makes charity NIL?

Charitable work doesn’t always fit the idea the public has about NIL. After all, it’s not something that the student-athletes are gaining from. However, this type of participation in charitable events wasn’t permissible until the rules around NIL changed last summer.

That’s because these events are raising money. By using Kansas athletes to raise awareness, the event is using their NIL. In the past, this would have been a violation of amateurism. Now, it’s an opportunity.

Neal and Logan Jr. will participate in more charitable events moving forward, thanks to NIL. Along with charitable events, they will be able to raise money for individual people in need, through avenues like Go Fund Me.