Oklahoma launches NIL merchandising opportunity with Fanatics

When Alabama launched its long-term partnership with Fanatics last month, it was looked at as the next initiative in the NIL game.

The agreement calls for the company to help Alabama launch the first-ever team store in Bryant-Denny Stadium. An NIL activation area for will be included for athletes, too. Players can sell autographed memorabilia, conduct fan meet and greets and conduct social media marketing

Turns out the Crimson Tide will not be the only program partnering with the apparel company this season. Oklahoma announced Wednesday that blank football jerseys will be available for customization at The Sooner Shop or online.

The institution has a longstanding partnership with Fanatics, which provides the officially licensed merchandise from outlets such as Nike and Topps.

The Sooner Shop has been a shopping option at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium for years. But this will deal allows Oklahoma fans to purchase customized jerseys of their favorite players. Dillon Gabriel and Marvin Mims will now receive a slice of the revenue they produce.

Oklahoma has been aggressive in the NIL space, too. The 1Oklahoma collective, headed by Hall of Fame football coach Barry Switzer, has set the goal of paying football players between $40,000-$50,000 a year. That’s an annual goal of $40 million.

And the Norman NIL Club, a player-led collective, launched last week. The club allows fans to donate directly to financially support 70-plus players and “join the ultimate fan experience” through online communities and digital events with players.

Top Oklahoma On3 NIL Valuations

There’s also plenty of NIL potential on the Sooners’ roster. Star wideout Marvin Mims has an On3 NIL evaluation of $591k entering the fall. The valuation places him at No. 37 in the NIL 100; he also ranks 28th in college football NIL rankings.

Over the past 14 weeks, Mims has seen a major spike in his evaluation of $531k. This is in large part to the role he’s expected to play in Jeff Lebby’s offense this season. He also has a 51,000 social media followers.

The only other Oklahoma player in On3’s NIL 100 is offensive tackle Anton Harrison, who has an evaluation of $538,000. With 22k social media followers, he has a per post value of $616.

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
+ Exposure

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.