Nebraska DL Ty Robinson asking Husker fans to 'sack old water heaters' with new NIL deal

Nebraska star defensive lineman Ty Robinson is asking Husker fans to “sack their old water heaters.”

In a new NIL deal with Action Plumbing, Heating, Air Conditioning & Electrical, Robinson shared that the Nebraska-based company plans to reimburse every Bradford White water heater purchased from July to November if the Cornhuskers win the Big Ten championship.

Robinson, a senior who was an honorable mention all-league pick in 2023, shared news of the “Sack Your Old Water Heater” partnership with On3’s Andy Staples at Big Ten Media Days.

“I recently just did a commercial for Action with their water heater sales,” Robinson told a stunned Staples. “If we win the conference championship, then you get your money back on the water heater. You’ll get your money back.”

A local water heater company in Lincoln, Nebraska plans to reimburse every purchased unit IF the Cornhuskers win the Big Ten championship this season😮

(via @Andy_Staples) pic.twitter.com/qRwLbgBmgK

— On3 (@On3sports) July 25, 2024

Nebraska currently has 55-to-1 odds to lift the conference trophy, per DraftKings. FanDuel also lists the Huskers’ odds at 55-to-1.

Nebraska market full of unique NIL commercials

The agreement is another original deal from the Nebraska market that has been full of outstanding and smart partnerships since the inception of the NIL Era.

While things didn’t work out on the field in Nebraska, nobody will ever forget the NIL deal that Decoldest Crawford struck with SOS Heating & Cooling ahead of the 2022 football season.

The commercial was a viral hit for the Nebraska HVAC company – so much so that it followed up in 2023 with another video starring Nash Hutmacher, playing off his Polar Bear nickname.

It too went viral.

“We had always thought about Nash,” SOS’s public relations manager Jake Wasikowski told On3 last August. “I mean, honestly, we thought of Nash since Decoldest was leaving. We know Nash’s nickname. We loved it and loved his play on the field. Toward the end of the football season, when we knew Decoldest was transferring, Nash was on our radar. One of the other guys that we work with said, ‘Hey, what about the Polar Bear? That’s pretty darn good.’ I mean, could you imagine having Decoldest on the team and then following it up immediately with a guy whose nickname is the Polar Bear.”

NIL has and will remain a hot-button topic in the post House v. NCAA settlement world we’re about to enter, especially since NIL has shifted to the pay-for-play model throughout college sports. Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti said Tuesday at Big Ten Media Days that there is a need for “a process to evaluate true NIL deals.”

“We need a process to evaluate true NIL deals,” Petitti said Tuesday. “We want student-athletes to be able to take advantage of their name and likeness. And we need to make sure that’s what’s really happening. Look, the role of third parties to the extent that third parties can connect student-athletes to real NIL opportunities, that’s a great thing. I think that’s the priority.

“In this new model, student-athletes will have sort of three areas that they can take advantage of. They’ll still retain their scholarships, the academic benefits, the connection to academics – that’s vitally important. They’ll be able to receive direct compensation from their institutions. Third, they’ll be able to capitalize on NIL to the extent that their NIL rights have value either locally or nationally.”

But at least in Nebraska, there appears to still be a desire for original and crafty partnerships between athletes and local businesses, especially if Cornhusker fans sack their water heaters and the team wins the Big Ten championship.