Michigan State-focused Spartan Dawgs 4 Life launches NIL apparel brand

Michigan State booster Steve St. Andre has taken steps to make the Spartans a player in the national NIL landscape.

On Monday, some of those moves came to fruition. Spartan Dawgs 4 Life (SD4L), a brand that St. Andre owns, launched its NIL apparel program which pulls some inspiration from the Oregon-driven Division Street. The phrase SD4L has become a way of recognizing former Michigan State athletes.

Now the name has morphed into a brand. Merchandise is up for sale on the organization’s website, with current Spartan athletes modeling and marketing SD4L. As of its launch, the merchandise includes a variety of T-shirts, sweatshirts and hats. Price range from $35 to $120.

It’s part of the Shift Digital CEO’s expansive NIL plan. SD4L will soon have a membership platform and exclusive gear drops.

“In the initial years, the donors are going to have to kind of fund it, like a lot of the donor-funded models that we’re seeing,” he told On3 in a recent phone call. “But if we can get this thing fully supported — we’re not building this to turn a profit. We’re turning every single dollar back over to basically think of it as a pool of advertising. So for student-athletes, the more they promote their own brand and SD4L brand, those dollars just repatriate right back to themselves.”

Future plans for SD4L

SD4L has already received backing from prominent members of the Michigan State athletic department, including Mel Tucker. Mat Ishbia and St. Andre donated $24 million to Michigan State a week before Tucker signed his contract extension in December 2021.

In the initial merchandise drop on Monday, athletes promoting SD4L included basketball players Jeremy Fears, Mady Sissoko, Carson Cooper, Malik Hall and Davis Smith. Football players Eddie Pleasant III, Bai Jobe and Jalen Berger also participated.

Plans are for every Michigan State varsity sport to participate in the marketing efforts. Along with recouping cash from apparel for NIL funds, the collective’s membership levels will include events with athletes.

“We have such a unique position of, we’re trying to sell gear, unique events and autograph signing for the players,” St. Andre said. “So it’s almost in the truest sense of how NIL was designed? Well, this is what it was meant to be.”

Where does Michigan State sit in Big Ten’s NIL market

The SD4L brand is not new to the Michigan State scene. While it is a popular phrase, athletes have been teasing the launch for a year. The collective has entered into deals with Spartans for much of the last year.

Now they can begin marketing merchandise for the betterment of their own NIL program. The hope is with buy-in from fans, the SD4L program can take care of itself. Sales are expected to be driven by word of mouth and social media. The apparel could eventually find itself in Spartan Stadium or the Breslin Center.

“I think the reality is, we actually had quite a bit of promotion to kind of build the brand awareness locally last year,” St. Andre said. “It did kind of set us apart at the top echelon of the Big Ten for last year. Of course, what’s happening now is those dollars are just literally exponentially growing. Where if last year, the kind of dollars that athletes were kind of commanding from collectives was X, it’s double this year, and it’s going to be triple next year.

“So for us, I think the question is going to be does this platform and doing so support all different ways and types of opportunities to help have the athletes, quite frankly, promote this name, image and likeness. And ultimately, if there are needs that the donors, we have that ability as well.”

Building an NIL war chest has been imperative for programs to attract prospects. The race in college football is to stockpile the most cash to distribute to current players so recruits know what they can make once they enroll at the school.

Boosters have become major NIL figures, most notably, Miami donor John Ruiz. His company LifeWallet is currently the target of investigations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, according to the Miami Herald. 

St. Andre does not want to play in the pay-to-play pond. The plan is for SD4L to create a sustaining apparel brand that can meet the NIL need of Michigan State athletics.

“To the extent that a university can build something that is kind of spread across the fan base, I think that has to be the future,” he said. “Because as a major donor for Michigan State, you’re just not going to keep writing those checks to pay players in most universities.”