Minnesota safety Steven Ortiz Jr. using NIL to help Puerto Rico relief

When Steven Ortiz Jr. was celebrating his first game appearance in a Minnesota uniform last weekend, Hurricane Fiona had yet to touch down in Puerto Rico. The redshirt freshman safety wanted to enjoy this one. After patiently waiting his opportunity, he’d finally taken his first snaps in a college football game.

So he took his family and friends over to Minneapolis’ Midtown Global Market. Ortiz had recently signed an NIL deal with The Kitchen by Baked Brand, one of the newest restaurants at the market. Thanks to some legwork from his marketing agent, Josh Mason, the defensive back had his own meal on the menu.

A former four-star recruit, Oritz was ready to try his meal for the first time. Destinee Shelby, who owns The Kitchen by Baked Brand, was ready to impress. First was a protein blue nut smoothie. And dipping into his Puerto Rican heritage, the owner of The Kitchen by Baked Brand rolled out a course of empanadas: stuffed turkey leg, shrimp and cheese and beef and cheese.

“I’d give her props — she also made a lemon strawberry cheesecake empanada,” Ortiz recently said over the phone. “Empanadas aren’t really made for dessert, but she made it a dessert. She went off the rulebook basically, and did her own thing, which I loved about it.”

Hours after the taste test, Hurricane Fiona hit Puerto Rico. Ortiz is open about his passion for his roots. When he committed to Minnesota back in 2020, two Puerto Rican flags were positioned behind him. The Desert Edge High School product — in the Phoenix suburb of Goodyear — has even worn a durag with the flag on it, as part of a partnership with Drippy Rags.

So with family and friends left without power and running water by the Category 4 hurricane, Shelby and Mason decided that all the proceeds of Ortiz’s meal for the first month will be put in a fund for the victims of Hurricane Fiona.

“It’s just heartbreaking,” Ortiz said of the hurricane. “They’re going through a tough time right now. If I had millions of dollars, I would definitely donate and help out Puerto Rico right now if I could. I have family out there. And just I don’t know — Puerto Rico is in me.”

The meal is now up on the The Kitchen by Baked Brand’s menu. Since the announcements, Ortiz said he’s had teammates come up to him asking when they can head over to the market.

“Puerto Rico needs all the help they can get to recover right now, and I am honored to be able to help side-by-side with Steven Ortiz Jr. at this time,” Shelby said.

Steven Ortiz Jr. continuing to build NIL brand

While Ortiz’s deal with The Kitchen by Baked Brand may be his favorite to date, it is not his first. He has nearly 20,000 followers on social media and an On3 NIL Valuation of $55,000. He’s done partnerships with the grooming company Duke Cannon and Lifted Research Group clothing company. Both have sent him free merchandise in exchange for social media promotion.

When he committed to the program, Ortiz was the second-highest ranked recruit to commit in the P.J. Fleck era. PSD Underwear has delivered him a care package. GLD Jewelry has sent over a few pieces, too.

Most of his deals have involved merchandise. But he has sent the cash he has been able to earn back home to his parents. He knows how easily he could blow through the cash. But now he can be a supportive big brother to his sisters, plus his cousins.

Ortiz also brushes at the notion of NIL tearing apart the locker room. He admits Mason, who also does work for Phoenix Suns forward Jae Crowder, handles most of his partnerships. The two hop on a call about once a week to catch up.

But NIL has done the opposite of ripping apart team chemistry.

“It helps out a lot of people,” he said. “It really helps out football players financially. A lot of players blow their money out of the water. I used to be one of them. NIL has helped everybody. There’s not anything that NIL has done to create beef or cause any problems.”