Nine South Carolina baseball players sign NIL deals with HeyDude through Park Avenue

Park Avenue has brought another notable NIL deal to the South Carolina market, this time coming before the NCAA baseball tournament begins Friday night.

The South Carolina-focused sports marketing firm has brokered a deal between HeyDude shoes and nine Gamecock baseball players. South Carolina opens the Columbia Regional on Friday against Central Connecticut. It is South Carolina’s third home regional over the last seven tournaments and its first top-16 seed since 2016.

First introduced in the summer of 2008, the slip-on loafer has seen its popularity soar in the last year. Acquired by Crocs in February 2022, the brand grew by 70% and generated roughly $1 billion in sales last year.

Michael Braswell, Dylan Brewer, Gavin Casas, Carson Hornung, Jonathan French, Cole Messina, Ethan Petry, Will Tippett and Braylen Wimmer have all inked NIL deals with HeyDude. South Carolina wide receiver Juice Wells has also agreed to a partnership with the popular Gen Z brand.

This activation is part of a larger campaign featuring thousands of college athletes, which has been run and facilitated by Postgame.

As part of the partnership, the group will be promoting the lightweight shoes across their social media channels. The athletes also shot a group video, which will be pushed out on social media.

“When I heard HeyDude’s vibe, I knew exactly who they needed,” Park Ave director Chaise Belt told On3. “The baseball athletes spend a lot of time in cleats and on their feet, so a shoe that is easy to slip on after a long day on the field couldn’t be a better fit. Creating great content and partnerships comes from identifying true, authentic pairings. It’s evident in the content that the Gamecock baseball players love HeyDude. A lot.”

South Carolina enters this weekend with a 39-19 record. Petry has been named SEC Freshman of the Week multiple times this season. With 22 home runs and 72 RBIs, he’s batting .376 on the season. James Hicks is expected to get the start for the Gamecocks on Friday night.

Park Ave returns to South Carolina

In August, South Carolina and ESM announced a two-year, $2.2 million partnership. Through the agreement, ESM would establish Park Avenue to procure NIL deals for Gamecock athletes. The in-house South Carolina-focused firm quickly made a difference. Touted basketball freshman GG Jackson signed on with Topps, while SAXX Underwear struck a six-figure, team-wide deal with the football team.

But the NCAA’s guidance in October labeled it impermissible for third-party entities to represent athletes on behalf of an athletic department. Park Avenue went dark for a few months but now has created a new infrastructure, separate from South Carolina.

Since its return, Park Ave brokered a deal for three South Carolina athletes with the plant-based sports nutrition company Clean Energy. The sports marketing firm could be replicated to fit other institutions if donor dollars could be secured.

While Park Avenue is no longer working hand-in-hand with South Carolina, it still plans to work exclusively with Gamecocks athletes. In the initial release, the marketing firm said it would work with about 25 to 35 of South Carolina’s high-profile athletes, with the goal of incorporating players across other teams.

ESM has built a reputation as one of the top marketing agencies in the NIL space. The agency currently represents Brock Bowers and the Cavinder twins, who announced forgoing their last year of eligibility recently. The twins signed with Jake Paul’s betting and media site Betr in April.