Kody Epps, Cam Rising play up BYU-Utah rivalry in NIL commercial

Rivalries are one of the biggest reasons why college football is such a special sport. So, it totally makes sense that Utah-based Mountain America Credit Union tapped into the Holy War between BYU and Utah for its latest NIL deal.

In a deal featuring BYU receiver Kody Epps and Utah quarterback Cam Rising, Mountain America Credit Union released a new commercial playing up the rivalry through new credit card offerings.

Epps suggests fans get a BYU-colored Visa Rewards card from Mountain America while Rising encourages customers to get a Utah-tinted Visa Cash Back card in the commercial. Former NBA broadcaster Kristen Kenney is also featured in the commercial, playing the role of moderator between Epps and Rising.

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Kody Epps, Cam Rising top players for BYU, Utah

It’s not surprising that Mountain America, which is headquartered in Sandy, Utah, focused on Rising and Epps in their latest NIL partnership. Both are household names throughout Utah and are leaders for the top programs in the region. Plus, Rising already teamed up with the credit union in an NIL deal in 2022.

Epps enters the 2023 season as a preseason All-Big 12 candidate. Despite missing the last five games in 2022 with injury, Epps finished the season with the team’s second-most receptions, hauling in 39 passes for 459 yards and six touchdowns at 11.8 yards per grab and 57.4 yards.

Epps originally entered the transfer portal in May. He had numerous major offers but returned to BYU for the 2023 season. According to the On3 Industry Rating, he was originally a three-star recruit in the 2020 recruiting class coming out of Santa Ana (California) Mater Dei.

Rising was a semifinalist in 2022 for the Davey O’Brien Award and the Maxwell Award. He was a first-team All-Pac-12 pick in 2021 and honorable mention last season. He has 15 career games with more than 200-plus passing yards, including two 300-yard games and one 400-yard game.

Rising is also a big winner in NIL. He has an On3 NIL Valuation of $226,000 and a long list of other deals, including from C.W. URBAN and Performance Toyota in Bountiful, Utah.

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 calculates the optimized NIL opportunity for athletes relative to the overall NIL market and projects out to as long as 12 months into the future.